- Mauricio Pochettino told Noni Madueke to ‘be careful’ after speaking out
- Madueke defended Raheem Sterling after he was jeered by Chelsea fans
- Why a defeat to Arsenal will be the curtain raiser for Man City’s title defense – Listen to the It all starts podcast
Mauricio Pochettino told Noni Madueke to ‘be careful’ after the winger criticized Chelsea fans for booing Raheem Sterling.
Chelsea supporters turned on Pochettino’s team during their Premier League match against Wolves on February 4.
The Blues suffered another harrowing defeat to drop to the bottom half of the table after their 4-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Raheem Sterling was jeered by sections of the home fans when he was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk after 72 minutes.
Songs could also be heard from the stands mocking the team, with a turnaround still looking a long way off despite clinching a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Noni Madueke criticized Chelsea fans for booing Raheem Sterling in recent matches
Sterling was booed by sections of the home fans against Wolves and Newcastle
Madueke (left) said the criticism of his teammate Sterling (right) was ‘harsh’ and ‘unfair’
Your browser does not support iframes.
The fans continued to mock the team, chanting ‘we’re f***ing s**t’ and chanting the name of former owner Roman Abramovich.
They also taunted Pochettino during their match against Newcastle, chanting ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ over his substitutions and continuing to jeer at Sterling.
After the match, Madueke said: ‘It’s so important (to support Sterling). I’m not one to tell you not to have an opinion, but I have mine too.
‘That’s one of my teammates and the criticism is harsh and unfair. It is our duty to speak out and try to change the narrative a little bit.”
He ended by saying: ‘Raheem is an exceptional footballer and an even better person. It’s a little disturbing when I see some of the criticism.”
Pochettino also spoke out in support of Sterling, but stressed that Madueke had to be careful with the comments he made about the fans.
“It’s about being calm now and accepting the situation,” Pochettino said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“The most important thing is to deal with this situation with our experience, and Raheem is a very experienced player.”
The Chelsea manager added: ‘What we can’t do is create bigger things because of our emotions.
“I really believe that our fans love our players and they will definitely support Raheem and the team’s result.
Chelsea dropped to the bottom half of the Premier League after the defeat against Wolves
The players booed as the Blues’ miserable season continued and the pressure increased
“The teammates have to be good teammates and players can talk and express their emotions and opinions.
“But I think we have to be careful in the way we talk and express our opinions because we have to build strong relationships with everyone.
‘I said after the game (against Leicester) that I don’t agree (with cheers) because the players always want to play well and score goals.
‘I also suffered from the anger of the fans because of the disappointment. The whole team was affected by it, but the most important thing is that Raheem is an experienced player, so he definitely understands it.
“Look, now we have to go further and help protect the player, that is our responsibility and the player must understand that he has to make the effort to convince the fans that we are in a very good way.
‘The players have to love the fans and the fans have to love the players. It’s a connection that we have to create, because otherwise everyone is going to lose.’
Pochettino ended by saying: “That’s why we have to be careful about the way we talk about our opinions and emotions.”
Blues fans also sang for former owner Roman Abramovich, who was forced to sell the club when Russia invaded Ukraine.