Pochettino: Chelsea still ‘building something’
Mauricio Pochettino insists Chelsea are still “building something” and it’s “only a matter of time” before results improve following Saturday’s shock home defeat by Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea had 75.9 per cent possession, registered 21 shots and recorded an xG of 2.13 against Forest, but they ended up on the losing side as Anthony Elanga’s rare strike gave the visitors their first win at Stamford Bridge since January 1995.
Despite spending £419m on new signings this summer, more than Pochettino spent in over five years and 11 transfer windows in charge of former club Tottenham, Chelsea have only won once so far in the Premier League this season – a 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Luton Town last week.
But although they have spent over £1bn under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership, Pochettino is not panicking and called for patience as he looks to build a squad capable of challenging their rivals.
“We were not clinical in both areas against Nottingham Forest. We made a mistake for the goal and then we created opportunities, but if you don’t score it is difficult to win games,” the Chelsea head coach said.
“This type of game I think will help us to be more mature, it is not only about having quality, but it is also about competing in different ways.
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“Of course, we can’t say that we didn’t deserve more, but in football the stats sometimes reflect what you do and in that case we created but we didn’t score and we only had a few shots on target.
“We are building something and it is always up and down. We are unlucky because I think we deserved more against West Ham (a 3-1 defeat) and today – but I have said before, it is only a matter of time.
“In the process when you are building a team, in an offensive situation in a game and in the intensity, you can make rash decisions and rush chances sometimes when you need to be more relaxed and more calm.
“It can happen and we need to stay calm and work really hard to improve and I think this type of thing will improve us.”