MAURICIO Pochettino is optimistic Chelsea will get their rewards soon despite seeing his side go down 3-1 at West Ham.
The Irons took the lead early on through Nayef Aguerd’s header, only for youngster Carney Chukwuemeka to restore parity on 28 minutes with a smart finish.
Chelsea were handed the perfect opportunity to take the lead before the break when Tomas Soucek tripped Raheem Sterling just inside the box.
However, the chance was squandered as West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola’s save denied Enzo Fernandez from the spot.
Michael Antonio’s well-struck 53rd minute effort restored West Ham’s advantage, although they were down to 10 men midway through the second half when Aguerd picked up a second yellow.
But it was the hosts who completed the scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time as record signing and debutant substitute Moises Caicedo fouled Emerson, enabling Lucas Paqueta to add his side’s third from the resultant penalty.
That consigned Pochettino to his first Blues defeat, although the new boss believes his side will improve as the season goes on.
The Chelsea boss told Sky Sports: “It was the frustration when we miss the penalty. We were playing well and we didn’t get the reward.
“We start the second half a little bit with this belief until we started again to play.
“We need to be more strong in this type of situation because we knew West Ham sit deep and counter-attack and set-pieces are really dangerous.
“(We are) disappointed but this is only the beginning. We need to believe in the process.
“I think we are going to be stronger and for sure be really competitive.”
Pochettino also claimed Chelsea were the better team on the day even if the result was ultimately disappointing for the Blues.
He explained: “That’s football. Teams like us, we need to get the right balance.
“I think today there were a few actions we didn’t manage well and we concede.
“We create many chances and we did well in the first half. We should have won the game with our first half.
“In the second half with another isolated action we concede again.
“To find the space to create clear chances (is hard) but overall it is this type of game that is difficult to explain.
“You had the possession, you create and maybe you were the better side but in the end you lose.”
