The stage is set for a massive face-off between Chelsea and Liverpool in the Carabao cup finals tomorrow. Although, if Chelsea are to get the better of their opponents at Wembley, then Pochettino needs to avoid repeating these 3 mistakes he made last time out vs Liverpool.……CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
• Benching Nkunku:
One controversial decision made by the Chelsea head coach at Anfield was the decision to not start one of his key players, Christopher Nkunku. This later came back to bite them in the back as they were completely outclassed 2-0 in the first half. The head coach rolled the dice at halftime bringing on a trio of players including Christo and the changes bore immediate effects as Nkunku pulled one goal back for his team.
However, it was too little too late and Chelsea ultimately lost 4-1. The decision to leave out Nkunku from the starting 11 might have been down to fitness, but now that he is fully fit, fans will expect that Pochettino does not make the same mistake twice.
• Using Palmer as a false 9:
A second mistake made by the Argentine gaffer at Anfield was the decision to play Cole Palmer as a false 9. Palmer, who has been one of Chelsea’s best players this season, was unusually kept quiet by the huge CB pairing of Van Djik and Konate throughout the game. This should not have come as a surprise to most Chelsea fans, as Palmer has always been a shadow of himself whenever he’s been used up top being that it is not his natural position.
The 21 year old attacker is a natural winger that likes to cut in from the right side onto his preferred left foot and deliver accurate passes to create quality chances for his teammates or shoot for goal himself. With Jackson back from AFCON and Nkunku fully fit, fans can hope to not see a repeat of Palmer striking on Sunday.
• Isolating Caicedo at the base of the midfield:
Finally, another glaring tactical error from the game at Anfield was defensive midfielder Caicedo being left isolated too often in midfield. Gallagher and Fernandez were a bit too further forward whenever Chelsea tried to build out from the back. This played into the hands of Liverpool’s aggressive pressing as they crowded out Caicedo on multiple occasions leading to a lot of ball turnovers resulting in chances for Liverpool.
To his credit, this issue was quickly addressed by Pochettino in the 2nd half which saw Chelsea keep the ball a lot better and create chances of their own. If Chelsea are to control the game against Liverpool at Wembley, then Pochettino must be spot-on with his midfield set-up this time around to avoid a repeat of the defeat suffered at Anfield.……CONTINUE READING>>>>>>
