Following Jurgen Klopp’s celebration of his 200th Premier League victory following a resounding 4-1 triumph over Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino openly acknowledged his team’s comprehensive defeat while also addressing the denial of two penalty claims. Despite Chelsea’s significant investments post the Todd Boehly takeover, the gap in quality was glaringly apparent during Wednesday’s match against the league leaders at Merseyside.
Pochettino, addressing the media, conceded, “The performance wasn’t good from us. It’s not a final excuse (penalty appeal). They deserved to win. They were better than us. But to talk about this, I don’t want to talk about that because it’s part of football. They were better than us from the first action. In this kind of game, you need to say ‘well done Liverpool’. They were more at it than us.”
He continued, “It was difficult for us to connect and play. We lost the ball so easily. When we say they competed better, they were better than us in the areas. In the second half of the game, at 2-0, we create a chance that (Mykhailo) Mudryk has and if we score maybe we get confidence and play better. Even if we scored and drew, then we would be disappointed because our performance wasn’t great.”
Pochettino cautioned his team about the impending Carabao Cup final, emphasizing the necessity for a drastic improvement to avoid another lopsided defeat. “If we want to match them and compete with them in the final then we have to compete in a different way,” he stressed.
“They were more aggressive than us. They were better than us in all areas. Of course, it is going to be different at Wembley. The feeling the players have now is good because they know if they repeat this performance it will be the same result.”
“We need to improve and we need to push ourselves a little bit more. We have to learn. If we want to compete with Liverpool, one of the best teams in England for many years, we have to raise our level.”
Chelsea’s dismal league record, with nine defeats, including six away losses, underscores their road struggles. Pochettino emphasized the urgency to bounce back, with Chelsea set to confront Wolves at Stamford Bridge in four days.
Chelsea performance and stats
Chelsea is currently 10th in the Premier League with 31 points.
In the last 22 games, it has won 9 times, drawn 4 times, and lost 9 times. In its last match, Chelsea lost 4-1 against Liverpool.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 36 goals and conceding 35.
Chelsea will play the next match in Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday 4th of February in London. The prediction is Chelsea winning the match.