Mauricio Pochettino has said Chelsea “need to feel the pain” after losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool at Wembley.
Reds captain Virgil Van Dijk headed home the winner with just two minutes of extra time remaining to consign the Blues to a sixth Wembley final loss in a row and third against Liverpool leaving Pochettino still in search of his first trophy in England.
In quotes picked up by BBC Sport the Argentine said: “They need to feel the pain, we played for a trophy we didn’t get. Now it’s the same, what can you tell me to feel better? Nothing.”
“They (the players) need to feel the pain like us. They need to realise that we need to work more, do better things. We need to improve and compete in this level against a side that in the last five, six, seven years has competed for big things.”
It was a huge missed opportunity for Chelsea with Liverpool missing the likes of Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota.
Chelsea thought they had taken the lead through Raheem Sterling but the goal was ruled out for the narrowest of offsides against Nicolas Jackson in the build up.
The Blues created a number of clear cut chances with Cole Palmer being denied by Caoimhin Kelleher and Conor Gallagher striking the post but just couldn’t find a breakthrough.
The Stamford Bridge outfit will need to move on quickly and put this defeat behind them as they host Leeds in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
