Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa can be a springboard for his side to revive their ailing campaign.
The team gave arguably their best performance under the Argentinian in dispatching the Premier League high-flyers in Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at Villa Park.
And it could not have come at a more opportune moment, arriving after the Blues were booed off by fans at the end of their previous outing, a 4-2 home loss to Wolves that left them 11th.
Chelsea have struggled to be consistent this season as a young squad have found expectations surrounding the club difficult to live up to, particularly in light of the £1billion transfer spend conducted by the ownership.
Yet they comprehensively defeated a Villa side currently in the top four and that recently enjoyed an unbeaten home run of almost year.
“Before (Villa) we had some good performances, but we are not consistent enough,” said Pochettino. “Maybe it could be the starting point for us, starting to be consistent and to show more often this type of performance.
“Always we believe (we can find) momentum and be consistent. Many things from the players and from the team (show we can be consistent).
“I hope it’s going to be a very good thing for us. I think the players deserve, they’re working hard from the start of the season. This type of game showed our capacity and our talent. We have a very good squad.
“We need to put it all together, behave the way that we behave, approach the game in the way that we approach. There are many good things we need to keep for the future.”
Chelsea beat Villa with three outstanding goals, two in the first half from Conor Gallagher, who drilled left-footed into the top corner after 11 minutes, and Nicolas Jackson, whose strike was his first since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Enzo Fernandez capped a brilliant win with a free-kick into the top corner beyond his Argentina team-mate Emiliano Martinez shortly after the break.
“It was only a matter of time,” said Pochettino. “I think Conor and Enzo, they are so good. They work a lot, always committed to the team and to the club.
“Great for Conor, great for Enzo also. They deserve to feel this way, to feel happy, to enjoy playing football. These two guys, they’ve worked so hard to try to perform. I’m so pleased with the performance from them.”
Chelsea will be without defender Benoit Badiashile for Monday’s meeting with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, after he went off with a groin injury at Villa Park.
Levi Colwill’s fitness will be assessed ahead of the game, although Pochettino confirmed summer signing Romeo Lavia is not yet close to returning.
The manager said it was “impossible” the Belgium international would be available before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.
Burnley end Leeds' unbeaten start in battle of promotion hopefuls
Leeds United suffered their first defeat of the Championship season as they were beaten 1-0 at home by fellow promotion hopefuls Burnley.
Daniel Farke’s side came into Saturday's encounter having won back-to-back matches against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City, but their momentum was halted by their clinical visitors.
Burnley forward Luca Koleosho scored the only goal of the game the day before his 20th birthday.
Koleosho took advantage of a slip from Manor Solomon after 18 minutes, before sprinting 70 yards and drilling a shot past Leeds goalkeeper Ilan Meslier.
That proved to be enough to inflict on Leeds a third home league defeat in six matches going back to last season, despite the hosts applying plenty of pressure as they sought an equaliser.
Burnley's Bashir Humphreys was sent off eight minutes into stoppage time at the end of the match, but Leeds were unable to find a way through.
Elsewhere in Saturday's early Championship kick-offs, Luton Town claimed their first win since relegation from the Premier League.
Teden Mengi's fine early effort from the edge of the penalty area was enough to beat Millwall 1-0 away from home.
While Luton have ground to make up in the promotion race, Oxford United's surprise challenge continues on the back of their 100% home record.
That was maintained with a deserved 1-0 victory over Stoke City, with Idris El Mizouni netting the winner three minutes into the second half.
Wolmer's Boys blank Denham Town 2-0 to maintain positive start in Zone E
Wolmer’s Boys secured their second win in as many games when they topped Denham Town High 2-0 in their Zone E Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association/Digicel Manning Cup encounter at Bumper Hall on Friday.
Captain Daquan Duhaney and substitute Addon Daye made the points safe for Jerome Waite’s side, which now moves to six points, same as leaders Tivoli Gardens but with a slightly inferior goal difference.
St Mary’s College (one point), Edith Dalton James (one point), St Jago, and Denham Town, who are both without a point, complete the standings.
Though welcoming the win, Waite believes his Heroes Circle boys still have much to learn, particularly where their mental game is concerned. It is an area he is hoping to improve on as the season progresses.
“It’s a work in progress, and it’s also a learning process for them because we have seen a lot of weakness in that area, so that’s something I’ll have to spend time working on. But we’ll analyse the game, sit down and discuss what we could have done better, where we still need to improve, and then we see how best we can get some more work done,” Waite said.
His counterpart Marvin Tate believes his boys are giving their best under the circumstances, as their preparation has been hindered by violence.
“We hardly got any time on the field to train because players live in adjoining communities which are actually at war. We took time out for a week to camp and it’s actually bringing some fruit because we’ve seen an improvement in the team and going forward we’ll see more improvements,” Tate shared.
Friday’s Results
Denham Town 0, Wolmer’s Boys 2
Camperdown 1, Haile Selassie 2
Kingston Technical 2, Vauxhall 3
Dunoon 3, Clan Carthy 2
Meadowbrook 0, Penwood 5
Ardenne 0, Eltham 10
Saturday’s Games
Kingston College vs Cumberland @ Stadium East
Jamaica College vs Ascot @ Jamaica College
STATHS vs Calabar @ Boys’ Town
Excelsior vs Bridgeport @ Excelsior
Holy Trinity vs St Catherine @ Alpha
Papine vs St George’s College @ Papine
*All games are scheduled for 3:30pm
Ten Hag: 'Penalty was the turning point' in Southampton victory
Erik ten Hag believes Andre Onana's penalty save was the "turning point" as Manchester United got back to winning ways with a commanding 3-0 victory over 10-man Southampton.
The Red Devils arrived at St Mary's on a two-match losing streak and almost fell behind in the 33rd minute, but Onana guessed correctly to keep out Cameron Archer's tame spot-kick.
The visitors capitalised on their reprieve as goals from Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford put them 2-0 up at half-time, before Alejandro Garnacho wrapped up the points later on.
Ten Hag was pleased with his team's response and also saluted Rashford, who netted his first goal since March.
"The start was not easy," the United boss told BBC Match of the Day.
"I think the penalty was the turning point in the game and, not so far after, we scored and that was very important. From that moment on, the game was all ours."
On Rashford's goal, he added: "It's very important. We spoke before the game. It is huge for him, for every striker.
"When the season starts, you want to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first, I'm sure more will come."
Onana was also pleased to see Rashford back on the scoresheet.
"We had a tough season last year, and he was not at his best," he told TNT Sports. "But today, he showed he's a great player - one of the best in the world.
"That's football, that's life. It's now how you fall, it's about how many times you stand up again. I'm really happy for him. Hopefully, he will score many more for the team.
On bouncing back with a win, he added: "Every game when you lose is like it's the end of the world. You have to stay strong, stay together and keep fighting.
"It was very good to save that penalty. It was an important moment for us.
"The most important thing for us is victory. We had a great game and a clean sheet. Hopefully, we will continue playing like this."
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