Mauricio Pochettino Grabs Cole Palmer in animated post-match chat as Blues boss admits he's 'a bit disappointed' by the £43million star's performance in Preston's 4-0 FA Cup thrashing
- Pochettino admitted he was disappointed the young star did not make the scoresheet
- Chelsea won 4-0 against Championship club Preston in the FA Cup
- CHRIS SUTTON: Being a great player doesn't mean you're a top manager. I put up cat towers at Christmas, but that doesn't make me Nick Knowles… It all starts
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Mauricio Pochettino was engaged in an awkward conversation with Cole Palmer after Chelsea's triumphant 4-0 win over Preston in the FA Cup.
Despite a challenging first half, the Blues secured a 4-0 win, with goals from Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez.
The Spanish boss tackled Palmer on the pitch in a Pep Guardiola-esque altercation to give the former City star some advice.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Pochettino admitted he was 'disappointed' as Cole Palmer missed a big chance in the match.
Speaking about Palmer's performance, the Chelsea boss said he was 'very impressed'.
Pochettino grabbed Palmer after the match in what appeared to be a heated argument
The former Tottenham boss admitted he was 'a bit disappointed' Palmer did not score
It appeared to be a tense exchange between the £43million ex-Man City talent and Pochettino
Your browser does not support iframes.
'I think he arrived on the last day of the transfer window and his performances after six months are incredible.
'A bit disappointed today because he didn't have a big chance and he is young and still has to improve in several areas.
'He has to understand a lot of things, but he is making a lot of progress. He's a really good player for us and he's doing fantastic and I'm so happy.”
Pochettino was visibly animated and grabbed the young midfielder by the arm as they exchanged words on the Stamford Bridge pitch.
In a recent warning, former Manchester United and Tottenham player Garth Crooks highlighted the importance of Palmer contributing defensively to win over his teammates.
Crooks emphasized this point after Chelsea's 3-2 win over Luton Town. Palmer, who joined Chelsea from Manchester City for £42.5 million, performed excellently. He has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 20 appearances in all competitions this season.
Cole Palmer has been in impressive form since moving to the capital from Manchester City
Palmer joined Chelsea late in the summer and scored eight goals and registered seven assists
Pochettino appeared to go all Pep Guardiola on Palmer at the full-time whistle due to the nature of his animated conversation with Palmer – just as the Spaniard (pictured) is often seen.
The event mirrored a similar one during Manchester City's 3-1 win over Everton, in which Pep Guardiola was seen deep in conversation with defender Josko Gvardiol during the whistle.
With the manager intent on picking up a point or two of players despite having already won the match, Pochettino's Cole Palmer chat evoked similar sentiments.
Guardiola has built a reputation as one of the most demanding perfectionists in football, and has developed a habit of grilling on the pitch after the match.
The recipient of his words this time was Croatian international Gvardiol, with former star Raheem Sterling and Erling Haaland both having suffered tinnitus at the final whistle in the past.
The conversation lasted more than ten seconds before Guardiola pulled the player into a hug and walked to the tunnel for his post-match dressing room debriefing.
Gvardiol seemed to take the advice at face value, rather than become offended, perhaps knowing that this was an essential part of learning from one of the best minds in the game.
He may have learned from previous examples that Guardiola prefers not to wait if he wants to convey a message to his players.