Pochettino on progress and positives after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool

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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino on progress so far after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Liverpool

Transcript

00:00 beginning was tough. I think it was difficult. Liverpool was better after 15-20 minutes.

00:06 But after we started to feel more comfortable on the pitch, I think we started to find our

00:12 ways to play and find our position. All that we were working on the training ground. I

00:20 think after that, I think the performance was really good. We scored and then we always

00:28 showed great performance and good effort. I'm so pleased with the performance overall.

00:33 I think we deserve to win because only we conceded one shoot on target. Again, a team

00:38 like Liverpool that deserves a big credit to the players. And of course, so pleased.

00:45 It's only the standard, it's only the beginning. After six weeks working together, I think

00:50 only I can say thank you to all the staff, all the areas in the club and the players

00:54 that are the principal actors.

00:56 Last season, Chelsea probably would have not been able to respond after that first 20-25

01:03 minutes. How pleasing for you is it to see the spirit that they've come back with?

01:08 Yes, when we arrived here the first day, we didn't want to talk about the past. I think

01:14 it's about to move on. Always in football, it's about to move on. Even when some action

01:18 happens on the pitch, you need to move on. Because if you are thinking about what happened

01:23 a few seconds before, you are not going to be ready and anticipate the action that is

01:29 coming. We said, which is the most important action in football is this one. That is always

01:37 what we want to settle from the beginning. That we arrived is about to talk about the

01:46 present and the future. But I am so pleased because when some difficult moments appeared,

01:54 the team was there. The crowd was fantastic, the fans were fantastic. We showed the belief

01:59 and that was a good point. It was a very good help for the team to keep going, fighting

02:06 and never give up.

02:07 You played with a back four for most of the pre-season.

02:14 Today also, back four.

02:16 Looks more like a back three.

02:19 It looks like a warming field, a drop to play in between the two central backs. When you

02:26 build it's three. It's like today, we build with Isasi, we're in possession with Isasi,

02:31 Silva, Levi, Caldwell. But if you see the second phase, when we didn't have the ball,

02:38 it was back four, Levi and Riz, back four. And then the two central backs, Isasi and

02:45 Thiago. If you have a drone and take a picture, it depends on the height of the pitch. Maybe

02:52 sometimes it's one, four, two, three, one. One, three, five. I don't know the number

02:59 because I'm losing the number. But I've seen these two different phases that we tried today.

03:07 In possession to play with three, building from back, two midfielders. And then Riz and

03:14 Chilli. And then using the pocket with Raheem and Carney and in from Jackson. And then when

03:23 we didn't have the ball, it's back four, two midfielders. Chilli going inside because Trent

03:30 was always doing like a midfielder, no in the side. And then of course Carney number

03:38 ten and number nine, Nico. I don't know, maybe I'm talking too much about tactics.

03:46 You're doing well. Tom Roddy.

03:47 Thank you.

03:49 Kepa wasn't involved in the squad today. What was the reason for that?

03:54 No, the reason I explained before to your colleagues, he has to explore different situations,

04:02 different possibilities and that is why. Yesterday we were talking and I think for us the decision

04:08 is to have all the players that are committed and thinking to be in Chelsea for the season.

04:15 And that is why he wasn't on the squad. We'll see. If we have something to inform, we will

04:20 inform quick.

04:21 Tony Banks.

04:22 Mauricio, you made Riz your captain this season. Can you explain why that was?

04:29 I think it's for after nearly six weeks working, I think we decided with the club to give the

04:38 armament to him because I think it's the perfect profile. He's a fantastic player, he's a fantastic

04:45 boy. He loves Chelsea. He's a leader. The team mates respect him and everyone respects

04:59 the club and the fans love him also. I think he's the perfect player to be a captain forever.

05:06 Why did you take him off just before the injury?

05:09 Because he was tired. But you need to see from where. The first thing we were doing

05:16 when we arrived was to assess and analyse all the players from the past. He was injured,

05:23 you know, three or four months injured. The pre-season was always tough for him. But of

05:32 course we didn't want to find or take any risk and that is why, I don't know, it was

05:41 80 minutes or like this. We wanted to keep away a little bit, avoid the risk.

05:49 We've got time for two more because Jürgen's waiting outside. Neil?

05:53 Talking of Rhys, Rhys and Raheem Sterling combined constantly and got dangerous balls

06:02 into the penalty area. I mean that was a relationship and to be honest we haven't seen before.

06:08 In a good way?

06:09 In a good way, yeah. We haven't seen any relationships for the last year. But was that something

06:17 that you expected at that level? Because it didn't sharpen pre-season even that kind of way.

06:23 We were working and always in between good players appear, you know, this combination

06:30 and that complicity. Yes, that is what we want in all the areas on the pitch. I think

06:36 today, second half, more than the second half, I've seen the team find very good positions.

06:43 In the opposite half we want to dominate the games. Even if we were playing against a team

06:49 like Liverpool. But today, I think it's only the beginning, it's only the first step. I

06:54 am so pleased but we are far away from what we expect from them and what we want from

07:00 them. That is why we are going to push every day to try to improve every single area, every

07:06 single relationship, you know. Individual and collective we need to be better and better

07:12 and better. Of course that is going to help when the transfer window closes, you know.

07:16 It's going to be fantastic. That is going to be the moment and we are going to have

07:25 time to work in all these relationships and improve individually and collectively the team.

07:31 Marissio, I'm just wondering what you thought of Enzo Fernandez, his potential, and then

07:37 the composition of the midfield. Obviously you're looking for a number six. Did today

07:42 show, as enjoyable a game as it was for the neutral, that there is some solidity needed

07:46 in the midfield as well?

07:48 I don't know because it's a very long question but what...

07:53 Enzo Fernandez.

07:55 Was good, was very good.

07:57 And the midfield, do you think there needs some solidity in there?

08:01 Do we need...

08:02 Solidity, strength.

08:03 Today the team showed only we concede one shoot on target and we concede a goal. We

08:09 are agree, again Liverpool, and I think the team was solid. We need good players, yes.

08:17 We need to improve the squad, yes. But that, you know, is not new. We are working really

08:23 hard and so happy in the way that we are working with Lawrence and Pauls and of course the

08:28 owner. And for sure we are going to improve the squad. It's about to find, you know, the

08:35 right profile, the right player to create a combination that we are going to be maybe

08:41 more solid. But the team was solid. We concede only one shoot on target, again Liverpool.

08:48 I think, I don't know, we can be more solid than 100 minutes that we played today, no?

08:55 But for sure we need to create more chances. We need to create more chances to have the

09:03 capacity maybe to score more goals. But I think it's the first step. I think we are

09:08 in a very good way. I am so pleased and now we cannot wait Tuesday to start again the

09:14 week to start to push the players to improve.

09:17 Thank you very much.

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