Mauricio Pochettino explains how Chelsea were held to draw by 10-man Burnley
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino believes his side’s lack of intensity out of possession was pivotal in their 2-2 draw with 10-man Burnley on Saturday.
Cole Palmer twice put the Blues ahead at Stamford Bridge following Lorenz Assignon’s red card, but the hosts were pegged back by goals from Josh Cullen and then Dara O’Shea.
Chelsea registered 33 shots, including 13 on target, and chalked up 4.26 xG but only had a point to show for their efforts.
„I’m very disappointed in the way that in the second half we managed or deal with the situation,“ Pochettino fumed in his post-match press conference. „We are a team that, when we play in possession and play forward, we are able to create too many chances, maybe not to score all the chances we created.
„We need to improve our percentage in the games. After today, we didn’t show the capacity, the energy, the anger. Not the minimum to compete in the Premier League. In the defensive phase we concede too much.
„That is why I am so upset and disappointed. It’s more here [in your heart] and here [in your head] than in your legs to be strong like a group, to be strong like a team. That is sometimes the circumstance for different reasons we are so slow evolving in this area.
„That is the key today. It’s not to find excuses. The team played well, yes, we have energy, yes, we go forward, yes, but afterwards when we don’t have the ball we don’t have the same energy.
„Sorry, but I am not with the performance when we don’t have the ball. If we are able to create chances in the way we did and have the capacity to move and find all the different ways to penetrate a team that play with a very deep block.
„Yes, we need to accept that and recover the situation. On Thursday we have another game here [against Manchester United] and we need to be with all the energy to be competitive and clear our head now.“