MAURICIO Pochettino admitted his team “gave up” as they were hammered 5-0 hammering by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
Just three days after pushing Manchester City all the way in their FA Cup semi-final, the Blues fell apart after half-time as Mikel Arteta’s side scored four times.
Leandro Trossard scored in the fourth minute, before Ben White and Kai Havertz each scored twice in the second half.
“I feel disappointed, I feel really bad. I don’t feel great,” Pochettino said. “The performance was not good. We started the game not in the way we were supposed to start. We conceded a goal so easily, we made things easy for Arsenal.
“I think after ten or fifteen minutes, after we concede, in this moment we started to play a little bit, we started to create some chances. We were talking at half-time, it is not possible to start the game like this, but we started in a bad way again, conceding two goals in this moment. I think the team gave up and we were not in the game.”
“It’s difficult to talk because we are talking after nearly one season in the same way. It’s impossible to see after Saturday at Wembley, a fantastic performance, competed really well against a very good team like Manchester City, and then today.
“You can lose against Arsenal, they are fighting for the Premier League, but in the way we competed. Why one day, three days ago, and then today in this way? For the circumstances, we needed to make some changes for different reasons but that is the inconsistency we are showing the whole season. Three days ago, fantastic game, great performance and we deserved to go to the final. And then today, we cannot use any words to describe this performance. It was not great, it was not good.”
Chelsea were without the ill Cole Palmer.
“Maybe with him, maybe it could be the same situation,” Pochettino said. “But of course, Palmer is doing well for us. He is the only player we have, a playmaker who links all the lines in the team. When you miss a player like this, it is not easy to replace.
“But I think it was a great opportunity to step up for different players. It’s true, we didn’t compete. I cannot blame the players. We are showing this inconsistency, that is why we are where we are.
“When we have bad days, we are so bad. When we are good, we are capable of everything. That is another thing we need to be aware of, that we need to increase for the future.”
Pochettino added: “I think we cannot blame the players. I am not going to blame the players. The circumstances are bigger than the performance of the players. We cannot blame young guys that came here and after suffering some circumstances, the team, you need to come here and fight against a team fighting for the Premier League.”
Pochettino was asked if he felt let down by the players.
He said: “No. There are too many details and circumstances why this happened. That is the experience we need to make sure the team doesn’t have in the future. The club is building a new project, a new way to operate and of course, always that is a risk you need to take when you build a young squad, it takes some time with all the circumstances we are living.
“The circumstances are not helping to be more competitive, to be better, to be more consistent. That is the reason this type of game can happen when you play a team like this that in the last three or four years are preparing to win the Premier League, to fight for the big trophies.
“I think we cannot blame the players. I am not going to blame the players. The circumstances are bigger than the performance of the players. We cannot blame young guys that came here and after suffering some circumstances, the team, you need to come here and fight against a team fighting for the Premier League.
“That is why you need to be careful. You cannot be unfair with our players. It is true that we are disappointed with our performance but I am not going to use a word [embarrassing] that is not fair to describe our team, our players, our squad.”
