Pochettino gives 3 reasons why Chelsea lost to Manchester United

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has made an attempt to explain his team's failures in their defeat against bitter rivals Manchester United.

The Blues fell to a 2-1 defeat to Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils, which left them rooted in tenth place on the log. 

Manchester United started brilliantly and had a penalty in the 9th minute, but Bruno Fernandes missed it. Scott McTominay opened the scoring for the Red Devils in the 19th minute, but Cole Palmer restored parity for the Blues before half-time. A McTominay strike in the 69th minute, however, ensured Ten Hag's side earned maximum points.

Pochettino’s side spoke after the game, and three factors stood out in his post-match analysis of his team's defeat: how poor they started the game; failing to match Manchester United’s energy; and missing their shooting boots.

"We didn't start the match well and maybe that can be expected because of the last couple of days,” he said, per the BBC.

“We couldn't match the energy of Manchester United but they had an extra day to recover. We missed the energy and the possibility to change the game. That was a problem and it happens sometimes. That is football. Full credit to Manchester United. They deserved the victory and were better than us but we were close. We need to be focussing on the next game."

"We need to be more clinical in the places like Old Trafford. We conceded the second goal and it was more difficult. We need to make better decisions. I think they pushed us to play in our half in the first half but then I think we were better and played a little bit better. It's hard with all of the emotion out there."

Meanwhile, Premier League legend Didier Drogba reflects on his angry reaction to perceived injustice during the 2009 UCL semi-final clash between Barcelona and Chelsea.