Mauricio Pochettino relieved as Chelsea end losing run against Sheffield United
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Chelsea's Cole Palmer celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON – Mauricio Pochettino claimed Chelsea’s response to successive English Premier League defeats showed that they are in a “good way” as the Blues beat Sheffield United 2-0 at home on Dec 16.
After losses to Manchester United (2-1) and Everton (2-0) turned the heat up on the struggling Stamford Bridge side, Pochettino’s men kept the critics at bay, at least for now, with a hard-fought success.
Chelsea were hardly in complete control against the Premier League’s bottom club, but second-half goals from Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson sealed a much-needed victory.
“I think we talked a lot during the week after Everton about needing drastic change,” Pochettino said.
“It was important to confirm that we are in a good way. The team in the first half was frustrated because we couldn’t find a way past the low block of Sheffield United.
“I am happy because the players deserve the victory. They worked during the week, they reacted. It’s about building our confidence but we need to realise we need to change if we want to improve.”
Chelsea’s first goal in the 54th minute was well worked between Palmer and Raheem Sterling, whose low cross was converted with a composed finish by the former Manchester City forward.
Palmer turned creator seven minutes later as he squared a loose ball for Jackson to make it 2-0.
Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson scores their second goal.
Pochettino pointed to a tactical change in the second half, swopping Palmer with Sterling to take up a more central role, as the key to the win.
“We didn’t show the capacity to be flexible and it was easy for them to identify our position and to block us and make us put the ball in positions that were easy for them to stop,” he said.
“The second half we were much better because we fixed things. The team started to find better possibilities to play, to link much better. Cole from the right, going into the space, started to link better with teammates and be the player that we want to use – a playmaker.”
The Chelsea boss also swatted aside questions about his decision to drop Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, as Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo featured in central midfield instead of the World Cup winner.
“You only can play 11,” he said. “Sometimes you need one profile or another. The combination between Caicedo and Gallagher, using Cole like a No. 10, that was the possibility for the best combination.”
Sheffield manager Chris Wilder, meanwhile, accepted that his inexperienced side were made to pay for the mistakes.
“In the first half we got it spot on. We limited them to very few chances. It’s just the naivety of our approach in the first 15 minutes (of the second half) when we went after the ball,” he said. “We didn’t have to get after the ball. Lessons learnt for a relatively young and inexperienced group.” AFP
