MAURICIO Pochettino admitted to being “emotional” after Chelsea’s crazy 4-3 win against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge when Cole Palmer’s hat-trick arguably wasn’t even the main headline.
The Blues trailed 3-2 with 99 minutes and seventeen seconds gone, the latest a team has ever been behind in the Premier League and still won.
Palmer netted a 100th-minute penalty and then scored the winning goal 82 seconds later to send the Bridge wild.
Had the game finished 3-2, United would have counted it as one of their great Premier League wins. Eric Ten Hag’s visitors were 2-0 behind after nineteen minutes following Conor Gallagher’s opener and Palmer’s first.
Alejandro Garnacho reduced the deficit in the 34th minute and Bruno Fernandes scored five minutes later to send the sides in level at the break.
Garnacho scored his second in the 67th minute and United defended their led for more than 30 minutes.
Palmer made it 3-3 when he beat Andre Onana from the spot after substitute Noni Madueke had been fouled by Diogo Dalot.
And there was even more drama as Palmer received the ball from a short corner before firing a deflected shot past Onana to spark jubilation on the home bench and in the stands.
Pochettino has been under pressure following a poor league campaign for the big-spending side.
“It was amazing because we deserved it. We were the better team today. It was fair that we scored in the last minute,” Pochettino said. “I think if you see everything, we started the game really well. The game was under control at 2-0 but then we made a big mistake.
“We suffered a big impact emotionally, an impact that was not easy to deal with. But in the second half, we controlled the game. We conceded in transition. Of course, I’m disappointed with the way we conceded three goals because I think we should be better in this type of situation.
“But if you analyse the game, I think it’s a fair result. Three points for us and I think it’s an important finish at the end, creating the connection with our fans, the fans and the players. It’s a very good thing that happened today and it should be a turning point for us, the team to trust from the fans.”
Pochettino was asked about showing his emotions after the goal and final whistle.
He said: “Because in the way it happened. It was unfair [if they lost]. The feeling was not so good, because I thought, ‘why are we losing the game?’ But it happened because in football it is like this. In the end, I was keeping believing. We were talking to our players, ‘there’s still two minutes’. We believed we could score the winning goal.
“Yes, so happy because in the end it was emotional. Win the game like this, three points and for us it was a must-win game to reduce the gap to the teams ahead of us. It was so, so, so important, the three points today.”
Some Blues supporters have felt Pochettino hasn’t expressed enough passion.
Pochettino had a strong response: “Passion is not to be a crazy guy doing stupid things on the touchline. I’m not like this. Passion is the team needs to show passion when there are eleven players on the pitch running and are desperate to get the ball back and score a goal.
“That is the passion our fans need to see. I need to be calm. I need to be very clinical and analytic, watching the game and trying to help them in every single aspect in the game. I need to be concentrated and focused.
“At the end of the game, of course, show passion like I showed it today. Fantastic. But that is not a circus, to need a clown to do things on the touchline. I need to be calm, very focused and try to help the team, a team that needs help from the outside because we are one of the youngest teams in Europe and I think we need to be calm, the coaching staff, and try to analyse and say every word you can to try and help.
“I’m not a clown. I am a coach, a head coach. If someone wants a clown, then go and find a clown.”
