Mauricio Pochettino demands more consistency from Chelsea after having shown quality against the Premier League greats
Mauricio Pochettino has asked his team to find “the right balance” in the final games of the season.
Chelsea had a mixed run, achieving morale-boosting victories over Newcastle and manchester unitedbut they disappointingly tied with the relegation favorites. Burnley and Sheffield United.
Last month pretty much summed up the Blues' season, which has seen them languish in mid-table for the second consecutive campaign, without showing much improvement on the 12th place they finished last season.
The incorporation of the summer signing Cole Palmer has been very positive, since the first city of manchester Young man who scored 16 goals and gave nine assists in the Premier League alone.
Now, Pochettino wants his team to show consistency, admitting his young group lacks “maturity” as he aims to finish as high as possible in his first season in charge.
Speaking before his team's clash against Everton on Monday night – LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on talkSPORT – Pochettino said: “In the same way that we concede, we score. In the past we struggled to score goals but now we are scoring.
“It's about striking the right balance between the two phases. That's the normal process and the normal balance when the team is not mature enough, you can suffer in these types of situations.”
Chelsea are now unbeaten in their last seven games in all competitions since their 1-0 extra-time defeat in the Carabao Cup end to Liverpool.
They have scored 20 goals in that time, but they have also conceded two or more goals in each game, allowing 15 in those seven games.
“I think in the last seven or eight games we didn't lose in the Premier League,” Pochettino said, referring to his team's defensive record. “The most important thing is to win games.
“Later we want to keep a clean sheet and not concede goals, but right now it's about winning games, we want three points.
“I don't want to concede chances or goals, but it doesn't work like that. If we just want to keep a clean sheet, maybe we need to play with ten defensive players.
“But Chelsea“In my opinion, he is about to go forward, create opportunities and score goals.”
A win on Monday night against the Toffees will keep them in the hunt for a European place, with the Blues currently in ninth place, four points behind seventh-place West Ham.
They are also preparing for the long-awaited FA Cup semi-final against city of manchester the following weekend.