Speaking after Cole Palmer salvaged three points for Chelsea in stoppage time against Manchester United on Thursday night, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for his team – expressing that the victory was ‘so important’ for his side.
‘It was amazing because we deserved it. We were the better team today,’ Pochettino explained. ‘It was fair that we scored in the last minute. I think if you see everything, we started the game really well. The game was under control at 2-0 but then we made a big mistake.’
‘But if you analyse the game, I think it’s a fair result. Three points for us and I think it’s an important finish at the end, creating the connection with our fans, the fans and the players. It’s a very good thing that happened today and it should be a turning point for us, the team to trust from the fans.’
‘In the end, it was emotional. [To] win the game like this, three points and for us it was a must-win game to reduce the gap to the teams ahead of us. It was so, so, so important, the three points today.’
Embed from Getty ImagesPochettino has been criticised at times by Chelsea fans for his tough-guy persona on the touchline, with the Argentine often cutting a reserved figure. The nature of Thursday’s victory brought out a side that has rarely been seen since he took the reins at Chelsea, and Pochetinno explained that ‘passion is not to be a crazy guy doing stupid things on the touchline. I’m not like this.’
‘Passion is the team needs to show passion when there are 11 players on the pitch running and are desperate to get the ball back and score a goal. That is the passion our fans need to see. I need to be calm. I need to be very clinical and analytic, watching the game and trying to help them in every single aspect in the game. I need to be concentrated and focused.’
‘At the end of the game, of course, show passion like I showed it today – fantastic. But that is not a circus, to need a clown to do things on the touchline. I need to be calm, very focused and try to help the team, a team that needs help from the outside because we are one of the youngest teams in Europe. I’m not a clown. I am a coach, a head coach. If someone wants a clown, then go and find a clown.’
