Jamie Carragher left stunned after Mauricio Pochettino admits Chelsea ‘felt penalties would be good for us’ following dire extra time display in their Carabao Cup defeat by Liverpool
- Chelsea sat back in extra time against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final
- Pochettino admitted his side were playing for penalties, leaving Carragher stunned
- Xabi Alonso is smart and will do what is best for him. He won’t make an emotional decision about his next management job. Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Jamie Carragher has been left stunned after Mauricio Pochettino admitted his Chelsea side played to penalties in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.
Chelsea finished normal time strongly, and with Jurgen Klopp turning to several youth youngsters for the latter stages of the match at Wembley due to Liverpool’s injury crisis, the Blues looked favorites to go on and win the trophy.
However, they sat back for long periods in extra time and were eventually undone by Virgil van Dijk’s header in the 118th minute. Reflecting on why his team had gone into their shell at a crucial moment in the match, Pochettino explained: ‘The players started to lose their energy. The team felt that penalties would be good for us.”
After seeing Pochettino’s quotes, Carragher responded to X by saying, “Wow! That’s how it felt when I looked at the extra time.’
Chelsea’s approach was also criticized by Gary Neville in the moments after Van Dijk’s winner, when he branded Pochettino’s men as ‘billion pound bottle jobs’.
Mauricio Pochettino admitted his Chelsea side played for penalties in the Carabao Cup final
Jamie Carragher was shocked by Pochettino’s admission, while Gary Neville branded Chelsea ‘billion pound bottle jobs’
The Manchester United legend’s cheeky comment was a reference to the cost of Chelsea’s expensively assembled squad over the past two years under Todd Boehly, with the west London club still having little to show for their expenditure.
But Pochettino hit back at Neville after the match, insisting it was unfair to question his team’s mentality.
“I didn’t hear what he said, but if you compare the ages of the two groups, I think it’s similar,” he said.
‘I have a good relationship with Gary and I don’t know if I can take this view that way. But I respect his opinion.
“Obviously we made a few changes in extra time with (Conor) Gallagher and (Ben) Chilwell, it’s true we didn’t keep the energy of how we finished the second half.
Pochettino claimed Marcel’s criticism of his players was unfair as he defended his side’s mentality
‘But I’m certainly proud. I am proud of the players, I think they have made a great effort. We are a young team and nothing compares to Liverpool (just) because they are also ready with some young players. I think it’s impossible (to compare the two sides).
‘He (Neville) knows the dynamic is completely different. I don’t think it’s fair to talk like this when he says so.’
Pochettino has now been involved in three finals with English clubs, but finished on the losing side in all of them.
He led Tottenham to the League Cup final in 2015, but they were defeated by Chelsea, and his Spurs side also lost to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final.
