Pochettino confirms fresh injury blow as he hails ‘very talented’ Chelsea star after Brighton win
Mauricio Pochettino gave a special mention to Cole Palmer after the playmaker’s starring role in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Brighton on Wednesday, but confirmed another fresh injury blow for the Blues.
Home supporters witnessed a victory at Stamford Bridge for just the third time since March as Nicolas Jackson’s goal proved the difference between the sides and set up a fourth-round meeting with Blackburn.
Jackson struck five minutes after half-time with a composed finish into the corner from Cole Palmer’s pass, becoming the first Chelsea player to score since Enzo Fernandez netted in the second round against AFC Wimbledon on 30 August.
Pochettino has repeatedly claimed in recent weeks that performances have been better than the team’s results, and he was relieved to finally see the tide turn in what he called a deserved win.
“Very pleased with the performance again,” he said. “(I am) happy for the victory and (it is) important to go through and build our momentum. I hope to build momentum for the future from today.
“Very pleased when the strikers score, it’s important. He needed to feel the net, it was an important game for him.
“All the team was really good. If we assess, all the players were in a very good level.
“Cole is a very talented player, he was key in this victory. He’s still young, he still needs to settle in the club and the city but we saw today how good he is.
“I think they (the players) showed character and personality.”
Chelsea’s win was blighted by another injury blow as Ben Chilwell had to be replaced in the second half.
“Yes, we need to assess tomorrow but I think it is [his] hamstring,” Pochettino told reporters after the game.
The news may come as a worry given Chilwell’s history with hamstring problems, with a similar injury keeping him out of the 2022 World Cup.
There were uncertain first-half performances from former Brighton pair Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella.
Sanchez in goal endured a particularly torrid night, with poor distribution gifting chances to Joao Pedro and Ansu Fati, while he also repeatedly hit passes into touch.
But Pochettino would not be drawn into criticism of the two and Cucurella in particular turned things around in the second half, with teammate Enzo Fernandez describing him as an ‘animal’ on social media.
“The first half sometimes we didn’t provide Robert and Marc good angles to play and have continuity,” Pochetitno said.
“After half-time I think we fixed that and were much better. But in a difficult moment they showed character. It’s never easy to play in these circumstances. Today was a must-win, we needed to win this game.
“Sometimes the pressure to win, you can’t be perfect. In the second half we dominated the game and we deserved the victory.”
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