Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino at his post-match conference in the 3-2 FA Cup win against Leeds on Wednesday, has reacted to what Gary Neville talked about his side in the extra time of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
The Blues progressed to the quarterfinals thanks to the late winner from Conor Gallagher in the 90th minute.
The latest win came after the Blues were defeated 1-0 in the Carabao Cup final by Liverpool last Sunday. The win is coming after the London side was defeated in the Carabao Cup final by Liverpool via spot kicks.
The latest win wasn’t overwhelming for the Chelsea boss to overlook what one of the commentators in the final, Gary Neville said about his team on the night.
Gary Neville had called the club ‘billion-pound bottle jobs’ in the extra time against Liverpool
However, the former Manchester United player came out after the game to clarify while doubling down on what he said during the match.
He said he was only referring to the last 30 minutes of the match. He was more infuriated when he heard the coach telling his players to play for a penalty shootout. He also said he wasn’t biased against the Blues as he never wanted the Reds to lift the trophy.
After the game, I didn’t think it was a harsh word ‘bottle’ and I was only referring to the last 30 minutes of the match as I thought Chelsea did well in the first 90
When I heard after that Mauricio Pochettino said his team were playing for penalties, it almost cemented the thought in my mind that they did freeze
Make no mistake, I didn’t want Liverpool to lift that trophy so it’s not like I was in a position of being biased against Chelsea.”
Gary Neville said
This however angered the fans of the side and Pochettino wasn’t having any of that.
He blast the ex-England International saying he said that out of frustration, as Liverpool won another title. In addition, he said that much expectation is unfair to this very young players and they need a lot of time with patience to create magic, as unity is starting to grow in the team
I think if you are talking about my friend Gary [Neville], I think he was frustrated because Liverpool won another title. That is the truth,
I think it’s not fair to accuse people in this way, with a team that’s very young. The expectation is massive because we are Chelsea but this team needs to build and build the confidence.The unity is starting to grow, it is not magic, you can’t just create it.”
Pochettino said
The Blues travel to G-tech Community Stadium this weekend to face Brentford. They host Newcastle the following weekend at Stamford Bridge.
