Pochettino insists Chelsea star ‘needs to adapt’ as manager delivers blunt response to striker question
After their 2-0 loss to Brentford, Mauricio Pochettino admitted Chelsea newbie Nicolas Jackson “needs to adapt” to life in the Premier League.
Ahead of their home game against Brentford on Saturday, Chelsea’s performances and results had picked up.
They were on a four-game unbeaten run across all competitions but Brentford subjected them to a frustrating afternoon.
Chelsea – who have only won four points from behind this season – were dominant in the opening half but their failings in front of goal prevented them from taking the lead. Brentford punished them for this with around half an hour to go as Ethan Pinnock headed the ball home after finding himself free in the penalty area.
The hosts pushed for a valuable equaliser during the latter stages of the game but they were wasteful with their chances before Brentford scored their second in stoppage time.
An unsuccessful Chelsea corner resulted in a Brentford breakaway. Bryan Mbeumo was given the easy task of scoring into an empty net after Robert Sanchez left his goal and went upfield in search of an equaliser.
Brentford have now won three straight games at Stamford Bridge and have leapfrogged Chelsea in the Premier League table.
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Speaking post-match, Pochettino admitted Chelsea are lacking goals without Christopher Nkunku but Cole Plamer “showed a great performance”.
“After the first half, we should [have scored]. If you do not score you should blame yourself. We were not clinical. Sometimes you need luck and after for sure the game changed in the second half. We cannot concede this type of goal,” Pochettino told reporters.
When asked if Chelsea have got enough goals, he answered: “So far no. Bad luck. Nkunku who has proved he can score goals is injured in the last pre-season game. Jackson is young and arrived this season and needs to adapt.”
On Cole Palmer, he added: “He showed a great performance, character and personality. It’s always about the team, when you don’t win we are disappointed. We are happy with how he arrived as he arrived at the last moment.
“We create an expectation when you sign a player. If I say I expect I am lying, always feel the player when you have the player, from day one you start to see the talent.”
