Mauricio Pochettino has said he retains the full support of Chelsea‘s owners despite mounting pressure following Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final defeat to Liverpool.
Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal in the 118th-minute at Wembley to hand Jurgen Klopp his eighth major trophy at Liverpool in what he has confirmed will be his final season in charge of the club.
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While both teams were missing players through injury, Klopp was forced to field several academy graduates and ended the final with three teenagers on the pitch — the highest number in a League Cup Final since 2007.
Yet after competing well for 90 minutes, Chelsea wilted in extra time to the extent that Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelled the Blues “billion-pound bottlejobs” in reference to the £1 billion spent by co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital since completing their takeover in May 2022.
Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali and Boehly were both in attendance for the defeat and when asked if he felt he still felt the backing from both men, Pochettino told a news conference on Tuesday: “Yes, yes, yes. They showed their support. And then after the game also, Todd sent a very nice message, yes.
“We were talking. I said hello when I saw them at the stadium and after during the night, I met Behdad and yes we were talking.
“We were sharing the opinions of the game. We were talking about the opportunity we missed to win a trophy because I think we played really well for 90 minutes and I think the team was really good.
“We created chances, we were not clinical enough. That is what happened since the beginning of the season, this is nothing new. We are looking forward to the next competition on Wednesday and then of course be in the Premier League trying to win every single game, trying to be as high as possible.”
Chelsea face Championship high-fliers Leeds United in Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash at Stamford Bridge but will do so without Christopher Nkunku after a fresh injury setback for the £52 million summer signing from RB Leipzig.
Nkunku has started just two games for Chelsea in all competitions after undergoing knee surgery on a problem sustained in pre-season. The 26-year-old striker was a 67th-minute substitute at Wembley and could now be ruled out for another month.
“We need to see and evaluate every day but I think at the moment, [he] is three, four weeks maybe out, hopefully no more,” Pochettino said.