Pochettino blames Chelsea's missed chances for 2-1 defeat against wolves
Dec 25, 2023
Wolverhampton [UK], December 25 : Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino "blamed themselves" for their 2-1 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
Chelsea's miserable season continued as they once again found themselves on the losing side following Wolves' triumph over the Blues.
Even with all the possession, Chelsea could not get past Jose Sa throughout the 90 minutes. They had chances but failed to keep their composure to finish off the opportunities.
Raheem Sterling had the best chance in the first half when he found himself one-on-one against Jose Sa. He missed out on his chance, and eventually, Wolves capitalized on that opportunity.
"We made a mistake; we need to blame ourselves. That's why we didn't win today, because in the first half, we had the chances to score. In the Premier League, if you're not clinical enough when you have chances, you can always concede," Pochettino said after the game, as quoted from Sky Sports.
"We didn't compete in the first five minutes of the second half; we conceded too many corners. In these moments, it's about competing better and being stronger. I agree we're our own enemy. I don't want to take credit away from Wolves. They scored and did their job. But in the first half, we were the better side. And because of a lack of capacity to score, we didn't win the game," Pochettino added.
The Argentinian manager put up Armando Broja along with Nicolas Jackson, who were accompanied by Raheem Sterling on the wing.
The trio caused plenty of problems for the Wolves' defence, but Jackson failed to control the ball on various occasions, Sterling missed his clear-cut opportunity, and Broja also failed to turn up when his moment came.
Wolves, who enjoyed a couple of good opportunities, eventually scored with Mario Lemina heading the ball in following Sarabia's corner.
Chelsea pushed hard for an equalizer, with Pochettino putting five forwards in front. Wolves doubled their lead with Matt Doherty firing the ball into the back of the net in injury time. Chelsea found a consolation goal with Nkunku scoring to make the scoreline 2-1.
