Mauricio Pochettino has opened up on why it’s taken time to change tactics and use Marc Cucurella as an inverted left back.
Chelsea put in arguably their best performance of the season as they swept aside West Ham 5-0 at Stamford Bridge, to continue their fine late season form.
It’s been a good week for the Blue’s with the comeback at Aston Villa followed by back to back London derby wins at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino opens up on tactical changes
The fans are delighted with the upturn in fortunes as the campaign draws to a conclusion, but have been left wondering why it’s taken almost a whole season to see a tactical change which has seemingly made such a big difference.
The Blues were 2-0 down at Villa and staring down the barrel of another damaging defeat, which forced Pochettino into a tactical switch to try and change the teams fortunes.
Cucurella who had been playing as a left back, was inverted into midfield to create a 3-2-2-3 in possession and provide an extra man in the middle of the park.
The change worked wonders and the Blues mounted a brilliant fightback, and since that point have looked a totally different team in the following two games.
The Spaniard looks like a player reinvented and the one Chelsea paid Brighton over £60m for in 2022, following a difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge.
After the game Pochettino was questioned on Cucurella’s development in his new role, and he bizarrely compared the 25-year-old to a chair.
“This role we can implement in the future but before that it is because you need to build the belief, the confidence, the trust, the team needs to compete”, the Argentine told his post match press conference.
“The tactical evolution that we, the coaching staff, have in our heads, yes, we will apply in the future but the most important thing, you cannot sit if you don’t have a chair. You need to build the chair.
“The problem in football is if you don’t have a team, you’re expected to behave like a team.
“You are so selfish and after you need to share. The priorities in football, like an engineer who is going to build a building. You want to see quickly the nice furniture, you want to live there.
“That is why sometimes we make a mistake when we judge the job of the people, the coaching staff and young players.”
Chelsea have three games remaining and are still firmly in the hunt for a top six finish, hopefully it’s not too little too late for the Blues in regards to European qualification.
