“It was a must-win game”- Mauricio Pochettino livid with Chelsea falling short in one key area vs Burnley

Mauricio Pochettino blasts Chelsea stars who frustrated in Burnley draw

Chelsea seemed poised for a hard-fought 2-1 victory against 10-man Burnley until a late header from Clarets center-back Dara O’Shea in the 81st minute dashed their hopes, leaving Mauricio Pochettino visibly frustrated during the post-game press conference.

O’Shea’s quick response to Cole Palmer’s goal in the 79th minute, courtesy of Josh Cullen’s corner, leveled the score for relegation-threatened Burnley. The visitors had been reduced to 10 men after Lorenz Assignon was sent off.

Despite holding a lead going into the second half, the West Londoners failed to capitalize on their advantage and dominate the match against Vincent Kompany’s side. Consequently, Chelsea couldn’t secure the win and were forced to settle for a frustrating 2-2 draw, sharing a point with Burnley.

Pochettino made his disappointment known following the game when he spoke to the media and felt it was a must-win game. He further commented via Football.London:

Sorry for my speech, but it’s difficult to accept not winning the game because it was a must-win game. We need to accept that and recover from the situation.

Pochettino has ample reason to feel disappointed with his team’s display against a 10-man Burnley. Despite being a man down, Burnley exhibited more vigour and a winning mentality than us. Additionally, our performance without possession of the ball was lacking. Against such a physical team, we need to demonstrate greater strength and resilience. Unfortunately, we allowed them too much freedom to run and dictate the game.

We lack players suited for chaotic football, and our excessive running leaves us with little control over the game. Our defensive approach tends to be low-block, making it easy for opponents to turn over balls. Additionally, our overly vertical style of play is not effective against 10-man teams. Burnley never appeared to tire in their pursuit of the ball, preventing us from capitalizing on our numerical advantage.

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In modern football, maintaining control is crucial. Without control, chaos prevails. Playing against a team that excels at ball control with only ten men is undoubtedly challenging. We handed Burnley the advantage, which shouldn’t have happened if we had shown more enthusiasm than them. Our lack of control from the outset made it difficult, and we should have performed better when they were reduced to ten men.