Pochettino admits leading Chelsea is more difficult than imagined

Coach Mauricio Pochettino did not expect to fall into the difficult situation as it is now, and admits 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 match against Luton Town in round 19 of the Premier League. "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, this is an interesting challenge."

Coach Pochettino holds his hand to his face 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 hand to his face 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 the relegation-racing 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 the top five European leagues, only three clubs have lost more in the calendar year: Almeria (24), Werder Bremen (20) and Empoli (20).

Chelsea have slipped 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, while Liverpool will face Fulham in the other.

According to Pochettino, Chelsea have not played well but not too bad in the first half of the season. The Argentine coach stressed that the team's goal is to compete at the top of the table, 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 in 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 together. We are Chelsea and history demands that we be at the top. But the reality is we need to increase the level of competition if we want to win more."

In the most recent match against Wolves in round 18 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 bookings.

Hong Duy

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