Mauricio Pochettino now has a theory as to why Chelsea got off to such a slow start last night against Manchester United.
He told Amazon Prime Video that he believes the extra effort his players were forced to put in against Brighton last weekend was a factor in his side not coming out the traps well.
The Blues laboured to a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford last night, with them comfortably second best for the majority of the evening.
Even Cole Palmer’s stunning goal on the stroke of half-time was not enough to claw his side back into the game, as they arguably came out for the second half even worse.
Some particularly poor individual performances let the side down, with Enzo Fernandez far off those standards he set at the weekend.
Pochettino now believes after his players were forced to play with 10 men for a large portion of the Brighton win, the tiredness carried into last night.
Pochettino on slow start
He said: “I think it was difficult at the start. I think they showed massive energy. Maybe we were affected. Playing Sunday with one less for 60 minutes, and repeat similar players.
“It was difficult for us to start the game in the way that we wanted. Maybe that was one of the reasons that we didn’t start well in the game. But I think we created enough chances to be in the game.”
Expectations will be high on Chelsea in the coming weeks, with their run of games looking far kinder on paper than they have for a while.
The club will also be counting on being able to welcome back Christopher Nkunku to their attack soon, with his return from injury almost complete.
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