Mauricio Pochettino knows just how important tonight’s game is for both Chelsea and his job as a whole. The Argentine is under immense pressure in his role at the club, and a match against big rivals Tottenham will always bring mixed feelings for the boss who had a very successful time across London.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶
In a game that is as important as this, Pochettino will have been frustrated with how injuries had played a massive part in his team selection.
The side picked itself in a sense tonight, with there only actually being 10 fit outfield first team players available for him.
He was already down on his luck when he went to Aston Vila, however he admitted that he would be without Axel Disasi and Thiago Silva tonight too.
With that, it was goalscorer Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile at the back, with the latter coming in for plenty of criticism this season in particular.
One figure who was critical of him in the first half was Pochettino, who could be heard by James Benge in the press box fuming with his player.
He took to Twitter to say: “Pochettino furious with Badiashile punting the ball back to Spurs. Even from one of the further back rows in the press box you could hear him shout something that sounded very like ‘it’s so easy’.”
The Frenchman has certainly had a stop-start first year at the club, with injuries ruling him out for long periods since his £35m move last January.
With Levi Colwill being mentioned by the manager as close to returning, it feels his performances in the next few games could be crucial in how many minutes he gets to close out the season.