THE BLUE FLAGGING
Apart from goal king Cole... Poch has a Blues side that lacks energy and hunger
MAURICIO POCHETTINO apologised for the length of his monologue.
But as Chelsea’s head coach outlined his many issues with yet another disjointed performance, the Argentine landed upon some harsh “facts” and “reality”.
The intention was not to “blame the players” after they twice forfeited a lead against 10-man Burnley.
Instead Pochettino insisted his squad “for sure, 100 percent agreed” with his assessment they lacked both energy and hunger.
In a match that had 36 shots, there was never a sense of control despite Chelsea having an extra man for more than half the game.
One goal up against a team staring relegation in the face, instead of finding a ruthless touch this game became a familiar tale of disorder. For
Pochettino (growing frustrated, above) it was not an issue of talent. It was one of application.
“We need to be more like a team, we need to find better communication, we need to be more competitive,” he said.
And despite the insistence this was not an attempt to throw his players (Nicolas Jackson, left) under the bus, those words sure felt like a pointed reference towards an absence of character.
Life would be so much easier for Pochettino if more of his young stars shared the determination of Cole Palmer.
The England international scored a brace only for his team-mates to concede the advantage after each goal (Dara O’shea nets for Burnley, below). Palmer became the first Chelsea player since Eden Hazard, 10 years ago, to score in five consecutive home games and, in a season devoid of positivity at the Bridge, he is producing statistics to rival some of the club’s modern greats.
He has been involved in 21 league goals (13 to himself plus eight assists) – putting him behind only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Diego Costa when it comes to contributing in debut seasons. He should end the campaign behind only the former Holland striker.
Palmer said results such as these “simply can’t happen” before describing the secondhalf performance as “just not good enough”.
He added that there was an onus on the players “to take responsibility and improve” after they “switched off too many times”.
Mirroring the star man’s effort, nevermind output, is proving beyond reach – not least the continuously sub-par £222million central midfield pairing of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
“It’s so obvious he is a good example for the rest,” Pochettino said of Palmer. “From day one he has taken the responsibility.
“And you see when the team struggles for solutions they give the ball to him.”
Pochettino did not quite concur when asked if Palmer is carrying his Blues side.
But the 21-year-old, who is still looking to seal his place in the Euros squad, must now be reaching a point where he goes into the changing room after dispiriting results and wonders what more he has to do.
“The dressing room is really down because we know we should go on and win this game,” he said.
“Of course he cannot be happy,” Pochettino concluded. “Of course he’s disappointed.”
Of course patience may soon run out with a supporting cast that keeps fluffing their lines.
CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Petrovic 6; Gusto 7 (Gilchrist 87), Disasi 5, Badiashile 5, Cucurella 5; Caicedo 5 (Sterling 73), Fernandez 5; Palmer 7, Gallagher 5 (Madueke 63), Mudryk 6; Jackson 5. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Muric 7; Assignon 5, O’shea 6, Esteve 6, Vitinho 6; Bruun Larsen 5 (Brownhill 46, 6), Cullen 7, Berge 6, Odobert 6 (Gudmundsson 70, 5); Amdouni 5 (Taylor 45), Foster 6 (Rodriguez 70, 5).