Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Chelsea has a personnel crisis, missing more than one squad in the Premier League round-of-26 match against Tottenham today.
Chelsea’s two latest injuries are midfielders Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi. Previously, the team was missing Raheem Sterling, Enzo Fernandez, Ben Chilwell, Malo Gusto, Reece James, Robert Sanchez, Lesley Ugochukwu, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia due to injury. Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku returned to training but did not recover in time for the match against Tottenham.
These 14 injuries are a record in a single match in the Premier League this season. But Pochettino admitted that it is difficult to explain this fact in one sentence or one word, but said that the whole team must take responsibility and could have done better.
Coach Pochettino in Chelsea’s 4-3 victory over Manchester United in round 31 of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on April 4. Photo: Reuters
The Argentine coach still praises Chelsea for having a great medical team, coaching staff, performance analysts, club management experience and all trying to improve. He just thinks that Chelsea is unlucky, and all members need to improve in terms of communication, motivation, strategy building, and information preparation to become better next season.
Despite billionaire Todd Boehly spending more than $1 billion to buy players since taking over the club in 2022, Pochettino still often has to promote talent from the academy because of the large number of injuries. “I think this is a great opportunity for some young players to sit on the bench and even come on the field,” the 52-year-old coach said. “When this opportunity appears, you have to be alert and want to show your ability to play for the first team. This is a great opportunity, and the next match will be great.”
As a guest at Aston Villa last weekend, Chelsea let the host lead 2-0 in the first half but still won a point when Madueke and Conor Gallagher scored in the first half. Pochettino was satisfied with the performance but also realized that Chelsea still has many details to improve.
“This is a process that our young team needs to experience and learn from,” he expressed. “It’s a huge challenge when these potential players compete in the toughest league in the world. When the team only has one, two, or three young players, it’s always easier. When the team has many young players, you always need to give them more time to learn.”
Pochettino led Tottenham in the period 2014–2019. Although he did not win any titles, he was instrumental in elevating the club, bringing them regularly into the top 4 of the Premier League and into the 2018-2019 Champions League final, where they lost 0-2 to Liverpool.
The Argentine coach admitted that he was very emotional when facing his old club but insisted that he must be professional and aim for victory with Chelsea. Pochettino is also proud to be preparing for his 400th match in charge in the Premier League and sees this as a dream that has come true.