The words of Mauricio Pochettino after Chelsea’s qualification for the League Cup final: “I’m desperate”

He Chelsea faced Middlesbrough this Tuesday in the second leg of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup. The first leg ended in a 1-0 defeat for the team from Enzo Fernandez. But in the match that decided everything the story was different: the team Mauricio Pochettino managed to win the match 6-1. After the match at Stamford Bridge, the coach shared his feelings of being able to play in a final again.

“I desperately want to win a title in England. In a year and a half at Paris Saint Germain we won three trophies and we want one here. Of course, I have a desperate desire to win”, said the coach. It is worth remembering that, in all the time spent in charge of Tottenham, he failed to win any trophies and now, after a not very good season with the Chelsea, has the opportunity to lift a trophy in the United Kingdom.

With his former English team, Pochettino managed to play in the Carabao Cup final in 2015 against Chelsea, and the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019. He couldn’t get it either.

“At a certain point, reaching the final is an extraordinary achievement. I think that was the goal when we started: without the Champions League, without the Europa League, without the Conference League, building a team almost from scratch. Obviously that was the aim, to be at Wembley in February,” explained the Argentine coach.

At the same time, he took the opportunity to give the tournament the deserved importance and how much it means for the team: “It seems like it doesn’t matter, given that Chelsea want the Champions League and the Premier League, but we need to start realizing it and give credit to a team that has never played a final at Wembley before. “It is important for the club, important for us in this process to build a new team.”.

The Blues are waiting for the winner between Liverpool and Fulham, to find out who they will play against in the Wembley final on 25 February. The first leg between the possible rivals of Enzo’s team ended 2-1 in favor of Alexis MacAllister’s team. Now, this Wednesday, Klopp’s team will visit Fulham in London (from 5pm Argentina time on ESPN) to define the remaining finalist.

The match against Middlesbrough

After the surprise of the first leg, Chelsea raised their heads and managed to turn the situation around. The story began on January 9, when Middlesbrough beat the Blues 1-0 at home. But unfortunately for them, they had to travel to Stanford Bridge to secure their place in the final.

Pochettino and his players were able to change their mentality and did not tire of scoring goals. The first goal came from Middlesbrough, but from an own goal. This way the overall score was equal. The second came from the hand of Enzo Fernándezwho, with his eye for goals, reached the end of the pitch to cross it.

The other scorers were Axel Disasi in the 36th minute, Cole Palmer twice in the 42nd and 77th minute, and then Madueke sealed the win in the 81st minute. However, the visiting team managed to get one back in the 88th minute thanks to Rogers. Thus the aggregate score was 6-2 and Chelsea reached the final.