Mauricio Pochettino praised his Chelsea team following their surprising 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round. The win came after the Blues and Pochettino faced significant pressure following a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Wolves.
Despite this, Chelsea delivered a superb performance against an in-form Aston Villa side, who had recently secured a 5-0 win against Sheffield United. Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernandez scored to give Chelsea a commanding 3-0 lead before Moussa Diaby scored a late consolation goal for Aston Villa.
After the game, Pochettino spoke to ITV and commended his team, describing their performance as their strongest display of the season.
“I think so (it was the best performance),’ he said. ‘We were talking in the dressing room about the feelings with the players. One of the best, maybe the best performance of the season.
“It has arrived in a very good moment for us and I’m so happy with the performance .
“The way we played pleased me the most. We are a young team and you know always it’s about being solid and consistent and that is most difficult thing in a young team.
“Today I was so pleased because we were talking a lot in last few months in the way we needed to create and win.
“Before the game, the perception was that the team was in the middle all together, ready to compete and fight and go. Always it is about energy and attitude and today I have seen the talent is there.
“To come here today, against the second best team at home in the league, Villa are doing a fantastic season… but playing the way we did… it’s not the result (that most pleases me), it’s the way we played and showed our quality.”
Following the 4-2 defeat to Wolves, Mauricio Pochettino faced considerable scrutiny, especially after a 4-1 loss to Liverpool earlier in the week.
These results contributed to Chelsea’s 10 league losses this season, leading them to drop to 11th place in the table.
Pochettino acknowledged the challenges his team is encountering but highlighted Wednesday’s performance as an indication of their potential.
“Of course it’s difficult but we are talking about expectations. We are talking about the most young team on the Premier League with expectations so high and it’s normal sometimes players feel pressure to play and perform and to win.
“It’s not easy to manage all of these things. I was talking yesterday that there are too many things like a coaching staff we are dealing with and it’s difficult to explain that to the people.
“But with this performance it makes us very pleased. All the people that believed from the beginning now we can feel it is true.
“The trust from the players and belief from players in us is there. 200%. The performance pleased me the most and is why I am so optimistic.’
He continued: “I know people are not patient and in a club like Chelsea you have to win and people don’t want to hear circumstances and excuses.
“But we are no longer that Chelsea. This is a new project, these things can happen and the people need to believe and if they believe fantastic and if not, you know what will happen.”
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