Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has now revealed what he told his players midway through last night’s embarrassing defeat to Arsenal.
He told the official club website the message he looked to send the Blues to try and bring them back into the game last night.
Chelsea went into the break a goal down, and even though they were giving up plenty of chances, they were having their own opportunities too.
Chelsea fall apart against Arsenal
However, four more goals conceded in the second half saw them condemned to their biggest defeat since Pochettino took over at the helm.
It was another example of the performance falling off drastically in the second half, although this was perhaps the worst example.
Pochettino has now shared the messages that he sent his players in an attempt to see them get back into the game.
Pochettino not happy with Chelsea start vs Arsenal
He said: “We conceded the goal too easy, we made things so easy for Arsenal, started the game losing the game and after that it was really tough. 10 or 15 minutes after we conceded, we started to play a little bit and create some chances, like we started the game again.
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“We were talking at half-time, saying it is not possible to start a game like that at this level, but we started in a bad way again in the second half and conceded two goals. Then I think the team gave up and we were not in the game.
“The most difficult thing to accept is the way we started, because the last 30 minutes of the first half we competed well and the game was even and we started to force them to make some mistakes to create some chances.”
The response the manager got was far from intended, and will have left supporters wondering if the boss has somewhat lost the dressing room to this extent.
However, it has been reported today that the players are still keen admirers of the manager, although fans may not echo those thoughts.
A banner was spotted in the away end last night dedicated to Thomas Tuchel, with some already calling for the club to rectify past mistakes and bring the Champions League winner back to Stamford Bridge.
It feels likely that the decision regarding his future will be made at the end of the season, and come down to whether they qualify for European football or not for the next campaign.
