Pochettino admits Chelsea felt pressure before clinching much-needed win

By

Mauricio Pochettino was relieved to see his injury-hit Chelsea carve out a late winner to overcome Crystal Palace 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

An 89th-minute penalty by substitute Noni Madueke clinched all three points for the Blues.

It was a particularly significant win for Chelsea, who went into the London derby following defeat at Wolves on Sunday in addition to coping without key players such as Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana.


“We needed to win. We had chances but were thinking too much, but I’m so happy,” said  boss Pochettino.

“As coaches you feel things – there was a lack of communication (between the players) during the game. They started to feel pressure towards the end. You try and do everything from the touchline but of course you cannot.”

Chelsea fielded their youngest-ever Premier League side, with an average age of 23.

“The mentality is very important in the Premier League,” Pochettino added. “If you don’t have the right mentality every day as a young team it is difficult to perform.”