Pochettino open up on what he told his Chelsea players at half-time vs Preston

Pochettino breaks silence on what he told his Chelsea players at half-time vs Preston

Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he told his Chelsea stars they were too sloppy in the first half, and needed to up their energy during the break to help them beat Preston North End in their FA Cup third round clash at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues, facing the Lilywhites for the first time in more than two decades, waited until the second half to secure qualification to the next round of this season’s FA Cup.

To be fair, Chelsea had more of the ball in the first period, but they couldn’t really threaten the visitors, who were the better side and mustered a few attempts on Petrovic’s goal, which left the home supporters fearing the worst.

The Blues started the second half a lot better than they did the first, and it didn’t take very long before Armando Broja opened the scoring with a powerful header to set up what would go on to end in a 4-0 win for his side, with Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Enzo Fernandez also on target.

Speaking after the game, Pochettino told the BBC of Chelsea’s display: “The first half I was a little disappointed. We started so sloppy. I told the players at half-time we needed to increase the energy and match that of Preston.

“The second half was a completely different game. We dominated, created chances and deserved victory.

“We showed a lack of desire in the first half and we were talking too much about their energy. They were better than us in this area.

“I was really disappointed but after we increased our level we started to play and deserved to win.”