Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has urged his players to become maturer after they conceded two avoidable goals against Newcastle. The Blues made hard work of a below-par Magpies side and the scoreline should have been more comfortable than their 3-2 triumph.
Pochettino’s side were comfortable after Nicolas Jackson’s early goal but errors from Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah allowed Alexander Isak to equalise. The Chelsea head coach has been concerned by his side’s inability to control matches and this was further evidence of their immaturity.
Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk bagged second half goals but Jacob Murphy’s thumping effort set up a nervy ending. Pochettino was disappointed with the goals his side conceded and wants his players to show more maturity.
“Of course, it’s a massive three points for us. We beat a very good team,” Pochettino told Sky Sports.
“I think we did zero wrong, but we scored three points and were very good. I am disappointed in the way we conceded the goals because we need to be a bit more mature and show more capacity to fix this kind of situation.
“It’s the first time we played with this defensive line, and with this combination they need to work better and know each other but overall, I am very happy.”
Chelsea’s victory closed the gap between themselves and the top seven to just four points. A late charge could see them qualify for European competition despite a largely disappointing campaign.
Defeat in the Carabao Cup final is Chelsea’s only reverse in their last seven matches across all competitions. They have a relatively favourable run-in compared to other teams battling to finish in the top seven places in the Premier League.
Pochettino, who has faced pressure from sections of Stamford Bridge, made a battle cry to supporters. He told fans to stick by the team to ensure they end the season well.
The Argentine continued: “They need to realise and we need to realise that we need to stay together. In the end, this group of players are going to fight and give our fans the best things we can do.
“We need to build this relationship and I think scoring early today helped and the fans were good. They were behind us but we need to keep going. Our concern is to perform and win games and to build our relationship, they need to trust in us through our performance.”
