MAURICIO POCHETTINO has to be extremely careful with his team selection.
The Blues boss has said that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly would “kill” him if he didn’t start their big money signings.
Pochettino has a huge pool of talent to pick from when he’s choosing his starting lineup, but there are a few names that appear to be non-negotiable.
Speaking after Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, the Argentine gaffer admitted he felt he had to play Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo despite the pair being tired from the international break.
He said: “It’s crazy for players to come back from South America on Wednesday and play on Saturday. Enzo and Caicedo were tired.
“But if I say: ‘OK, I’m going to give them a rest and not play’… you [the media] will kill me, for sure – and then the owner also.”
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Both of the Chelsea midfielders spent the break away with their respective national teams and took part in both games.
Caicedo played two full 90 minutes as Ecuador faced Colombia and Bolivia, while Fernandez featured heavily for Argentina in their wins over Paraguay and Peru.
But it’s understandable that Boehly would want to see the pair playing at Stamford Bridge after the American boss forked out a combined £222MILLION to sign the players.
However a lack of energy in the second half could be one explanation for Chelsea’s late crumble as they threw away a two-goal lead against their London rivals.
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The Blues were 2-0 up and cruising to victory before Declan Rice capatalised on a sloppy mistake by Robert Sanchez to pull one back for Arsenal.
Then in the dying embers of the game Leandro Trossard popped up at the back post and snatched a point for the Gunners to take back to North London.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
