Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Chelsea “needed” their FA Cup win against Leeds United on Wednesday, a result that proves his side are “brave.”
Conor Gallagher’s 90th-minute winner kept Chelsea in the competition, which has the ability to salvage this season and possibly Pochettino’s job.
It could also ensure European football for the club for the upcoming campaign, which seems a pipe dream through their league standings alone.
Speaking to the media after the game, Pochettino talked about Gary Neville’s jibe at his side [via Daily Mail]:
“It is not fair to use this type of word for a team that is so brave.
“What can we do? Only with this type of performance, show that we are brave.
“Why we lost the game against Liverpool has nothing to do with this.
“We know we are brave, that we are working really hard, and, look, if people want to be around and around and around this comment, for us, it is not important.
“It is only sorry, you were wrong, but look, nothing to say.
“I respect his opinion and that’s it and we won.”
Performance
Pochettino added: “We needed this result.
“It wasn’t a great performance.
“We created too little because it is a team full of confidence – a very, very, very strong team.
“When you concede after a few minutes, the character we showed after this situation, it is a thing to learn from the team”.
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Meanwhile, Chelsea have now made their way into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and will face yet another favourable draw as they face Championship side Leicester City on March 16.
If the Blues can string together at least three more wins in the competition, they will be guaranteed a place in the Europa League for next season and that may potentially save Pochettino’s job at least till the next season.
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