Four issues Pochettino received proper as harm ravaged Chelsea beat sorry Tottenham

Injury hit Chelsea eased to a 2-0 victory over an astonishingly limp Tottenham Hotspur side.

Mauricio Pochettino deployed a thread-bare team due to a mighty injury list of 14 senior players. Yet, the Blues came flying out the blocks and almost took the lead. Micky van de Ven’s goal-line clearance from Nicolas Jackson’s effort, flew into the feet of Cole Palmer, but the ex-Manchester City forward could only divert his effort over the goal. Just as they did against Arsenal, Tottenham conceded from a poorly defended set-piece.

Conor Gallagher’s floated free-kick found fellow Cobham graduate Trevoh Chalobah at the back-post, who, while unmarked, headed back across goal and into the top corner. A lengthy VAR check silenced Stamford Bridge, but after checking for offside and an incident which saw Marc Cucurella step in front of Brennan Johnson, the goal was confirmed, sparking even louder cheers than when the ball hit the net.

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Tottenham were horribly sluggish in the first-half and while their intensity did improve after the break, they rarely looked like troubling Chelsea. In the 71st minute, the Blues managed to ease any lingering nerves by scoring a decisive second.

Palmer’s whipped a beautiful 25-yard free-kick onto the underside of the crossbar, but Jackson, who must have felt like he had to wait hours for the ball to drop, managed to use all the muscles in his neck to head the rebound into the net.

Game management has been one of Pochettino’s biggest weaknesses since he took over the reins, but the Blues were solid in the closing moments. They looked after the ball while Chelsea fans sang “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that” – Daily Star Sport considers what Pochettino got right.

No excuses from the off

Pochettino’s injury list was big enough to deploy a starting XI with three good substitutes off the bench. The Blues were missing 14 first team players with a combined transfer value of more than £500m. So, if ever there was a time for a Chelsea manager to start planting seeds of excuses for a possible home loss to Spurs, it was probably now.

Yet, Pochettino was not going to lay a comfortable bed for his players to lay in in case of a loss to Spurs. In his press conference, he told his injury hit side to prepare for victory, while also telling the young academy stars on his bench to step up and prove themselves if called upon.

He said: “It is a great opportunity for some kids to be on the bench and to have the possibility maybe to play. When this opportunity appears it is about being conscious and saying: “come on, step up”. The lack of defeatism in Pochettino’s comments ensured his side were up for it, despite their evident problems.

Fire with fire

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When your players are dropping like flies, the last team you want to host is one Ange Postecoglou is in charge of. Tottenham have been one of the most intense sides in the Premier League this season.

With options threadbare, it would’ve made sense for Pochettino to cut out the space in behind by deploying a low block to catch Spurs’ on the break. Yet, Chelsea took the game to their fiercest rivals, pressing the life out of them from the front and always looking to win the ball back high up the pitch.

Tottenham struggled to cope with their intensity, particularly in the first-half when Chelsea would have ran riot were it not for their continued struggles in front of goal.

Exploiting Spurs’ set piece fears

After watching Spurs crumble in the face of Declan Rice’s in-swinging crosses against Arsenal, Pochettino targeted his former employer’s clear weakness – set-pieces. Chalobah’s goal came from a classic training ground routine. Seconds before Gallagher floated his free-kick in, Cucurella stepped across Brennan Johnson, who was marking Chalobah.

The split-second delay caused by the Spanish defender meant Chalobah had all the green in West London to float a perfect header into the far corner. Cucurella straddled the line between strong physicality and illegal fouls so much, VAR had a long look to see if his contact was too much.

Alas, VAR deemed it to not be clear and obvious and Chelsea’s cunning set-piece plan worked perfectly.

Cucu-in

Cucurella has left plenty to be desired since his whopping £60m move from Brighton and Hove Albion. He has been guilty of his fair share of mistakes since his big money arrival and has never really looked comfortable – until tonight.

In the last couple of weeks, Pochettino looks like he has found a formula to get the best out of the Spaniard. Cucurella has been occupying a central position when Chelsea have the ball, with Benoit Badiashile drifting out to the left to cover the space behind him.

Pochettino’s decision to invert the full-back has not only added an extra body in the Blues’ often wide-open midfield, it has given Moises Caicedo and Gallagher more freedom to maraud forward in search of the ball. It’s taken a long time, but, as they say, it’s better late than never.