LONDON – Mauricio Pochettino's injury-time celebration felt intentional for a reason. As Carney Chukwuemeka curled in a low shot in the 92nd minute to finally break Leicester City's resistance, the Chelsea head coach turned to wave his right arm in the direction of the Blues supporters stationed near the bench.
Noni Madueke later added gloss to the scoreline with a fine goal, sealing a 4-2 victory in the FA Cup quarter-finals that finally sends Chelsea to Wembley, but for much of Sunday afternoon it felt like a referendum at Stamford Bridge on Pochettino's future.
If there had been a public vote in the second half, he may have lost. Pochettino was greeted with chants of “you don't know what you're doing” when he decided to introduce Chukwuemeka for Mykhailo Mudryk in the 78th minute, despite Raheem Sterling enduring the kind of nightmarish afternoon that may take some time to resolve. go back. .
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Sterling was eventually replaced with four minutes remaining with the score at 2-2, prompting boos for the England international (later mixed with applause from those wishing to continue supporting him) as Chelsea struggled to beat a Championship opponent. reduced to 10 men for the match. last 17 minutes after Callum Doyle's red card.
Pochettino could therefore be forgiven for taking a high degree of satisfaction that Chukwuemeka and Madueke made such match-winning contributions on a day when hostility towards him reached new levels.
“I'm not the coach here to do what people want,” Pochettino said. “Also, I'm not stupid. I did it to go again. In my case, I saw Mudryk. We analyzed, he was tired and doing some stretching. We thought maybe he wouldn't finish the game and we decided to go first for Mudryk and then for Raheem .
1:16
Chelsea scored 2 in added time and advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals
Substitutes Carney Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke scored in second-half injury time to lead Chelsea to a 4-2 victory over Leicester.
“That's because we need to see everything. We are professionals. We want to win but of course we completely understand the situation. That doesn't mean I agree. But look, we are going to support Mudryk, Raheem and everyone.” the players on the squad.
“I not only ask the [fans] that you trust me. They have to trust the club because in the end if I am here it is the club's decision and they have to trust the club's project, also in me and the club. They have to trust that the club is doing what they believe is good for the club and for the fans. “It's about trusting everyone.”
Pochettino probably didn't need a reminder of the tightrope he is currently walking, given that in recent weeks fans have expressed their frustration towards a team that is only truly consistent in its inconsistency with some chants in favor of Jose Mourinho during the tie. 2-2 at Brentford.
Sources have told ESPN that some of the sympathy within the club's hierarchy towards Pochettino comes from internal data suggesting Chelsea have not been fairly rewarded for their performances this season. The most basic numbers were certainly in his favor: a total expected goals of 4.59 to 0.74, 26 shots to Leicester's five and 59.9% possession.]
But once again they only played in patches and almost completely devoid of the authority that the best teams grant on a weekly basis.
They were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to some clever work from Nicolas Jackson that allowed Marc Cucurella to open the scoring in the 13th minute, before Sterling missed a penalty in the 27th minute with an attempt that revealed a crippling lack of confidence. , which infuriated the locals since he took the penalty from the prolific Cole Palmer.
Things got worse a minute before the break when he went wide when clean, although there was a rebound moments later when Sterling turned provider for Palmer to convert from close range.
0:56
Chelsea's disastrous own goal gives Leicester a lifeline
Axel Disasi hangs his head in shame after his attempted backpass ended up in Chelsea's own goal.
However, the fragility of this Chelsea team continues to reflect poorly on Pochettino. He can't necessarily be blamed for the kind of individual error that led to Axel Disasi inexplicably overcoming a simple backpass past Robert Sánchez to score a bizarre own goal in the 51st minute, or the individual quality that saw Stephy Mavididi scored a brilliant equalizer in the 62nd minute for the visitors.
But it is your responsibility to address the collective loss of control, and it happens too often for it to be a coincidence.
Pochettino sympathized with Sterling's plight, facing chants of “get him off his back” from the incandescent home fans after curling a 75th-minute free-kick so high it would have looked out of place at Twickenham.
“It's obvious, I can't hide anything,” Pochettino said. “The feelings were not good for him, but I am going to support him. Today is a great opportunity to support him. He has an incredible resume, a player who has played in big teams, an experienced player.
“Of course, today he missed the penalty and some opportunities. But look, I'm happy with him, we will support him. I think the opportunity is to show that we are building something. I'm sure he will pick up the pace.” “Once again, he needs to help the team.”
Somewhere in the madness, Palmer continues to keep his head. It was his delightful move that opened the opportunity for Chukwuemeka to deliver the decisive blow, meaning Palmer has scored and assisted in six different games for Chelsea in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League player.
And Chelsea are back at Wembley with the chance to salvage a trophy from a turbulent campaign in which they are trying to climb to the top half of the table, unsure of European qualification.
“Maybe I have to explain it to the fans too,” he said. “We have to accept. This does not mean that we agree or not, but we have to accept. All football fans live with expectations and always want the best for the Club and the player.
0:57
Cole Palmer's backheel gives Chelsea victory
Cole Palmer set up substitute Carney Chukwuemeka for the go-ahead goal in second-half stoppage time for Chelsea.
“When you don't live up to expectations, that's what's difficult for our fans to understand. I've also said it in the past: I'm strong, I don't have any problems. We're going to continue moving in the same direction. Of course, we want create a better atmosphere I can't lie.
“I hope that the next game our fans will always be unconditional [being] behind the team because we represent Chelsea. The players also want to give their best for the club and the fans.
“We are in a process in which we want to make our fans happy. I hope that we can create a good connection with the fans until the end of the season. I am not going to criticize them, because they have the right to say what they want.” want.”
At some point, Pochettino has to bring some calm to this chaos, otherwise it could end up consuming him.
