Pochettino admits leading Chelsea is harder than imagined

Coach Mauricio Pochettino did not expect to be in such a difficult situation, and admitted that Chelsea are far behind pre-season expectations.

"We knew it would be difficult this year, but we didn't expect it to be this difficult," Pochettino said on December 26 at a press conference ahead of the Premier League match against Luton Town in round 19. "Injuries and suspensions make the situation worse. Chelsea have too many important players out and there are too many things beyond our control. But at the same time, it's an interesting challenge."

Coach Pochettino holds his face in his hands during Chelsea's 1-2 loss to Wolves at Molineux Stadium, London in round 18 of the Premier League on December 24. Photo: Reuters — Coach Pochettino holds his face in his hands during Chelsea's 1-2 loss to Wolves at Molineux Stadium, London in round 18 of the Premier League on December 24. Photo: *Reuters*

After the first 18 rounds of the Premier League, Chelsea lost eight matches, equal to Wolves, Man Utd, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton and only behind relegation-threatened clubs Fulham (nine defeats), Nottingham Forest (10), Luton Town (11), Burnley, Sheffield United (13).

In 2023, Chelsea suffered 19 defeats in the Premier League - the most in the league. Of Europe's top five leagues, only three clubs have lost more in the calendar year: Almeria (24), Werder Bremen (20) and Empoli (20).

Chelsea have dropped to 10th in the Premier League and are in danger of missing out on European football for the second season running. But they could qualify for the Europa Conference League if they win the League Cup. They will face Middlesborough in the semi-finals, with Liverpool playing Fulham in the other tie.

According to Pochettino, Chelsea have not played well but not too badly in the first half of the season. The Argentine coach stressed that the team's goal is to compete for the top group, even if no one believes in them, but admitted that they are far from expectations.

"In football you need knowledge, quality and organisation," Pochettino said. "But for 90 minutes you have to compete, show a clear style of play. We need to improve this and things will get better when the players come back and play better. We are Chelsea and history demands that we are at the top. But the reality is that we need to increase the level of competition if we want to win more."

In the most recent match against Wolves in the 18th round of the Premier League last weekend, Chelsea had an expected goals (xG) of 1.94, but only scored one goal after 16 shots and lost 1-2. The bright spot for "The Blues" was the new $67 million player Christopher Nkunku who scored in his first Premier League appearance. Pochettino believes that scoring will give Nkunku more confidence in the process of integrating into the new environment, and sees his student playing best in the No. 10 or No. 9 positions.

The 51-year-old coach also confirmed that Moises Caicedo is cured and can return, but Enzo Fernandez and Lesley Ugochukwu are out due to injury. In addition, "The Blues" are also without Reece James, Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell due to injury and Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer due to multiple bookings.

Hong Duy

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