- Mauricio Pochettino urges Chelsea supporters to have faith in the process.
- This was after Sunday’s 3-1 loss to 10-man West Ham United at the London stadium.
- Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season thanks to goals from Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio, and a Lucas Paqueta penalty in stoppage time.
Following Sunday’s 3-1 loss to 10-man West Ham United at the London stadium, Mauricio Pochettino encouraged Chelsea supporters to have faith in the process.
Pochettino, who took over as Chelsea’s full-time coach during the summer, has yet to lead the Blues to victory, with the team’s opening game of the year ending in a 2-2 tie with Liverpool.
READ: Premier League: 10-man West Ham United stun Chelsea
Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the year thanks to goals from Nayef Aguerd, Michail Antonio, and a Lucas Paqueta penalty in stoppage time. The game also marked Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea debut, and it ended poorly as he gave up the penalty that Paqueta converted.
10-man West Ham United stun Chelsea at the London stadium. Photo/Sky Sports
When the score was 2-1, Enzo Fernandez had a chance to even things up from the penalty spot, but Areola stopped him from scoring. Although it was disappointing to miss the penalty attempt, Pochettino urged the crowd to have faith in the process and expressed confidence in the team’s future.
“It was our missed penalty’s frustration. Pochettino stated, “We were playing brilliantly, but we didn’t get the reward.
In his post-game news conference, Pochettino made just that claim, implying that his team had not yet fully found its feet.
Pochettino also made reference to the fact that his team had 76% of the ball, made a lot more passes, and had more shots than the opposition yet still lost the game.
“With our first half,” he continued, “we should have won the game.”
“That’s football. Teams like us, we need to get the right balance,” he told Sky Sports.
A debut to forget for Caicedo
Lucas Paqueta scored a penalty after Moses Caicedo’s foul on Emerson. Photo/The Standard
Caicedo was acquired by Chelsea last week for a British transfer record of £115 million from Brighton, but the midfielder had a disastrous start. After coming off the bench in Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to West Ham on Sunday, the 21-year-old appeared rusty and gave up the penalty that led to Lucas Paqueta’s third goal for the Hammers.
After the game, Pochettino responded to a question about Caicedo’s forgettable debut by saying, “He performed great. a lot of good stuff. We let up a goal in the dying seconds, so we can’t say everything is OK.”
The Chelsea manager feels that despite the setback, his team will still have a strong season. It makes sense for him to think this way.
“I’m disappointed, but this is only the start. We must have faith in the process itself. Pochettino continued, “I believe we will be stronger and certainly very competitive.
Chelsea’s next match against newly promoted Luton at Stamford Bridge might provide the ideal setting for Pochettino’s fluid attack to demonstrate its full potential.
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