Mauricio Pochettino is looking for his Chelsea squad to “grow up” after losing Malo Gusto and Nicolas Jackson to untimely suspensions.
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Argentine coach struggling to pick up resultsInjuries & suspensions doing cause few favoursSpark required from somewhere at Stamford BridgeWHAT HAPPENED?
The two big-money summer signings will be forced to sit out important fixtures over the coming weeks after their recent disciplinary misdemeanours. Gusto was shown a red card during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, while Jackson picked up his fifth booking in just six games.
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Both will now serve bans, with Gusto seeing an initial yellow card against Villa upgraded to an instant dismissal following a VAR check on his studs-up challenge on Lucas Digne. Jackson, meanwhile, has added to Chelsea's striker woes as he prepares to head for the stands – with a team already lacking in firepower losing another attacking option.
WHAT THEY SAID
Pochettino, who is coming under mounting pressure after only inheriting the managerial reins at Stamford Bridge over the summer, has said when challenging his youthful squad to show greater maturity: “We need to grow up like a team. A player like Nico is so young and is feeling the Premier League and is learning. He made the mistake. We feel disappointed because we are paying for too many situations like this. It was a little bit unlucky [to lose] because of how many chances they created. We cannot say that the players gave up after 70 minutes. They were fighting until the end with one player less. First half we deserved a little bit more. I think we had control of the game. After the red card, the game changed. With 11 men and 10 men, it’s two different games.”
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Pochettino said of Gusto’s sending off: “Being honest, it was in front of me but I didn’t see. I cannot say it wasn’t a red card. We need to trust the referee and the VAR. Difficult to judge because I didn’t see. It’s the player’s responsibility. We cannot blame the referee. But we cannot blame Malo Gusto because sometimes things happen in football.”
Chelsea – with just five Premier League points to their name this season – will be back in action on Wednesday when facing Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.