Chelsea once again gave Premier League fans a delicious treat with an entertaining match against defending champion Manchester City. Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola’s teams scored and conceded four goals to play out a sensational draw, with many hailing it the best match of the season so far.
Both teams fought till the end, desperately fighting for the three points, and as a result, the game had some moments of heated arguments. The Blues’ manager, however, went a bit too far, which has earned him some criticism.
Mauricio Pochettino reflects on his post-match behavior
Mauricio Pochettino showed his aggressive side yesterday when he approached referee Anthony Taylor after the game for an alleged slight. He was furious that the full-time whistle was blown when Raheem Sterling was fouled. He had also disagreed with the first penalty that was awarded to City.
He had to be held back by some of his staff as he berated the match officials. He also did not shake hands with City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, after the game, who praised his team after the game. He was given a yellow card for his actions towards the referees.
Pochettino said why he felt the need to do this after the game, and even apologized: “I need to apologize to Anthony and the referees and the fourth official. In this moment, I felt that maybe Raheem could go through and score the fifth. When the game finished, I turned and said ‘what the …?’ You know, what’s going on. I said ‘why stop in this moment, the action’.”
He admitted that he probably deserved his yellow card, “Then I turned and said: ‘I deserve, I deserve to be booked’. Because I crossed the limit, so I want to apologize because it’s not a good image for me and for football, this type of behavior.”
He also felt the need to ask for forgiveness from Pep as well, saying, “Yes, I want to apologize to him also because at this moment I didn’t see. Only I was focused on this action. So I want to apologize to Pep also.” Pep later said that it was understandable and he had no problems with it.
Mauricio Pochettino assesses 4-4 Man City draw
Chelsea were thought to be the underdogs, but they showed spirit and determination to dominate the game. City had a very tough game, and there were plenty of other chances as well.
Pochettino may have been displeased with the officials, but he was proud of his team, albeit admitting there is room for improvement. He said that the team was still in a rebuild phase, “We still need to improve, yes… but it’s the process when you want to build a project, build a journey.” He also said that the game will no doubt be a motivation for the team moving forward.
Chelsea have been playing good football in recent days, though they started the season badly. Mauricio Pochettino will now want to translate this into the next game as well, which is after the international break against Newcastle United on Saturday.
