Mauricio Pochettino looks back at Chelsea’s match with Middlesborough

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Chelsea’s head coach Mauricio Pochettino had few things to say about the match Chelsea played yesterday with Middlesborough.

Middlesborough had handed Chelsea a 1-0 defeat at Riverside, Middlesborough’s home.

‘It’s so easy to explain,’ Pochettino said to Chelsea’s press following the match. ‘We made some mistakes in the first half and we were punished for that.

‘We created big chances but didn’t score, we were not clinical enough. That is so clear. In the second half we dominated but we didn’t create enough chances. Middlesbrough deserve the credit of course.

‘It’s the first 90 minutes, the first half of the tie, and we are losing 1-0. In two weeks we are going to have the second leg and we have to be positive that we can win the game and go to the final. That is the objective.

‘We were punished for the mistakes we made in the first half. We conceded a goal because it was our mistake. The few mistakes we made they punished us.

‘We created enough chances to score and get a draw at the end. Over 90 minutes I thought we were the better side, but if you don’t score goals you cannot win. They scored and we didn’t. That explains perfectly what happened.

‘I am disappointed because I think we deserved a different result, but sometimes you don’t play well and you win. For us it’s like we need to play well, we need to score goals. We play well but sometimes we are not clinical enough and sometimes we are punished. That is the process in this moment we are in.

‘Always when you are building a team this kind of scenario is tough, because you not only need to play well but you need to deserve and have some luck. Today we made a few mistakes and conceded a goal that we should not concede. Then we were not clinical enough.’

The second leg is coming up at Stamford Bridge, London, home of the Blues.