Chelsea cruise to a 1-0 victory over Brighton in the 1/16 of the EFL Cup on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge.
The win will greatly relieve Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, who has come under pressure and criticism from Blues Fans and the Media following Chelsea’s poor start in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino made five changes to the team that Aston Villa beat in the Premier League on Sunday, giving Cole Palmer, Ian Maatsen, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Marc Cucurella. It is their first start for Chelsea this season. After assisting Nicolas Jackson in the winning goal, Cole Palmer justified the manager’s reason for selecting him for the game. The English international would have gotten two assists on the night. Still, his second assist to Nicolas Jackson was ruled out as offside.
Nicolas Jackson scored his second goal this season to help the Bles progress to the next round of the EFL cup, where Chelsea will face Championship side Blackburn.
What did Mauricio Pochettino say about Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson’s Performance against Brighton?
On the Performance of Cole Palmer, he said at a Press conference after the game: “I think like all of the team, I think the team was really good. If we assess all of the players, I think we are in a very good level. Cole is a very talented player, he was key in this victory tonight. Still young, still needs to settle in the club, not only the team, in the club and the city. I think we saw today how good he is.”
On Nicolas Jackson, he added: “Good response from the team, I was very pleased with the performance again and now happy for the victory and important to go through in the competition and build our trust and momentum. I hope we can bring this momentum to the future. [Jackson] Yes, very pleased, I think when the striker scores it is important. He needed to feel the net and important for him, very pleased for him.”
Pochettino was also pleased with the performance of David Sanchez and Marc Cucurella, who had a sloppy start but improved as the game progressed.
On their performance, he added: “No. I think they showed character and personality. I think in the first half, sometimes we didn’t provide Robert, and sometimes Marc, good angles to play the continuity of the game. I think after half-time, we fixed some positions, and the second half was much better.
“Even in a difficult moment, they showed character, and they were calm. Never easy to play with situation and the circumstances and today was a must-win and we needed to win this game. Of course always is the intensity and sometimes the pressure to win, sometimes is not to be perfect. I think in the second half, we dominated the game and deserved the victory.”
