Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino on why he was left 'angered' after Blues miss chance to show why they 'should be fourth'

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino looks dejected during his side's FA Cup match against Leicester City in March 2024.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he was left "angered" after the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw at home to 10-man Burnley on Saturday.

Cole Palmer scored both his side's goals as Chelsea led twice against the Clarets, but the Blues were pegged back both times by the visitors – despite being a man up from the 40th minute.

With the scores still level, Burnley's Lorenz Assignon was sent off for two bookable offences and from there, Chelsea seemed set to go on and win the game.

Raheem Sterling of Chelsea walks off after being substituted during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final between Chelsea FC and Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on March 17, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

But after a Palmer penalty had put Chelsea ahead late in the first half, Burnley's John Cullen levelled inside two minutes of the second period.

Palmer then restored Chelsea's lead with 12 minutes left on the clock, but Burnley hit back again shortly afterwards as Dara O'Shea equalised.

"I'm sorry but I am not happy with the performance when we don't have the ball," Pochettino said after the game.

"We need to be strong also against a very physical team. We allowed them to run too much. Sorry for my speech but it's difficult to accept not to win the game because it was a must-win game. We need to accept that and recover from the situation."

"The way we concede the first goal, they have one less. They need to realise we need to increase our work levels. It's not to blame the players, it's to blame everyone. We need to be tougher when we have the players.

"We need to be a team, find better communication and be more competitive. I'm angered as I think we could have done better."

Speaking ahead of the game, Pochettino had claimed data showed that Chelsea should be in fourth place, but Saturday's showing did little to prove that and the Blues remain in 11th after another disappointing result.

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Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.