Mauricio Pochettino feels Chelsea lacked the clinical edge needed to overcome Manchester City in their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.
Neither City or Chelsea showcased their finest form at Wembley, but true to Pep Guardiola’s leadership the former managed to find a way, with Bernardo Silva’s goal in the 84th minute sealing a 1-0 victory and a place in the final.
Chelsea’s most promising opportunities arose through Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson, but he was unable to convert any of them, much to the frustration of the club’s supporters around the ground and staff in the dugout.
Top scorer Cole Palmer, meanwhile, performed admirably and was unlucky not to have earned his side a penalty when his free-kick struck the arm of Jack Grealish.
Speaking to BBC Sport at full-time, Pochettino said: “I think in the game we were a little bit better and deserved more, but it is not about deserving it, it is about being clinical and we were not today.
“We conceded in a moment you should not concede. We were not capable of being clinical in front of goal, we had many chances but we did not score.
“On Monday we scored six [against Everton] but today we were not capable of scoring even with having maybe more chances and more clear chances to score.
“Today we were playing a very good team in Manchester City. It wasn’t easy but we were capable of playing a very good game, competing really well. Looking forward we want to build on this, sometimes you have these sorts of games on your journey and the important thing is to take the positives from it.”
Up next for Chelsea is a visit to the Emirates Stadium to take on the high-flying Arsenal. Securing a victory would not only dent the Gunners’ title aspirations but also enhance the Blues’ prospects of qualifying for Europe.
“The focus is on the game next Tuesday, there is not too many games to recover and it is going to be another tough game,” Pochettino added.
“Of course we need to win in a positive way to try to win more league games and get close to the position of being in Europe.”
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