MAURICIO POCHETTINO has revealed that a mystery incident “impacted” Chelsea before facing Fulham.
The Blues beat their West London rivals 1-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a penalty from Cole Palmer.
Despite picking up three points and climbing to 8th in the Premier League table, Chelsea were not at their best.
Pochettino’s side struggled to create much in the first half until Issa Diop’s clumsy challenge handed them a penalty.
Palmer dispatched the spot-kick to take his tally to nine goals in 17 league games this season.
Pochettino has admitted that the team were affected during the match as “something happened” before kick-off.
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He said: “The first half wasn’t the first half we expected.
“Something happened before the game that I can’t explain, but it impacted the team.
“It’s nothing big.
“Small details that sometimes affect the team.
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“It’s not important for you or our fans to know.”
Chelsea held onto their lead despite heavy pressure from Fulham and extended their winning run to three games in the league.
During the game, Chelsea were fortunate to keep eleven players on the pitch.
Malo Gusto caught Willian with his studs showing, however he was only handed a yellow card by referee Anthony Taylor.
Fulham boss Marco Silva lamented the decision to full-time.
He told TNT Sport: “We have to talk about the red card for Gusto, it was clear. It is hard to see how things aren’t consistent at the level that we’re at.
“This is the Premier League. In 10 of those moments, nine times it is a red card. It is a clear red card for me. VAR checked and this time they didn’t give.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
