Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino felt that his players showed the qualities required to improve as a team during their 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.
The Blues went into the London derby with their Champions League-chasing opponents without an astonishing 14 first-team players due to injury.
As a result, Pochettino was forced to select a substitutes' bench that did not feature a single outfield player that had previously made a Premier League start.
However, Chelsea successfully negotiated the test of the North Londoners as goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson earned Pochettino's team a deserved three points and a rare clean sheet.
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What did Pochettino have to say?
Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the match, Pochettino was naturally beaming about the manner of Chelsea's performance as they dealt with a much-improved second-half showing from Spurs.
Commenting on the victory itself, the Argentine said, as quoted by football.london: "I think for me it's the best game. I'm the most happy I am after.
"The way we play, compete, that is what we wanted from the beginning of the season. In this way we can grow, do better and improve in all the areas."
Pochettino singles out performances of three players
Chelsea were able to benefit from having three homegrown players in their starting lineup, albeit with Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher far more experienced than the youthful Alfie Gilchrist.
Pochettino felt Chalobah and Gallagher were key for Chelsea on Thursday night, while he also heaped praise on Noni Madueke for what he felt was an "unbelievable" performance.
Trevoh Chalobah heads Chelsea into the lead! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XIs9T4BiyS
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2024
On Chalobah and Gallagher, he added: "They were fantastic. Players that grow in the club, come through the academy system, they have the capacity in this type of game to give a little bit more because it's emotional."
Speaking on Madueke, Pochettino said: "We suffered some different injuries for different circumstances so we were not able to work with the whole team.
"It is not easy to create a competitive group of players to go to the pitch feeling 100% in their best form. In the last few weeks, we are trying to find this balance.
"Noni Madueke today, unbelievable. He did a fantastic job with the ball and without the ball. He helped Alfie defend and that is what we needed for the future to build this spirit, very competitive."
What next for Chelsea?
As a result of overcoming Spurs, Chelsea were able to move ahead of West Ham United and into eighth position in the Premier League standings.
That two-point advantage with a game in hand will be put to the test on Sunday afternoon when the Hammers are the visitors to Stamford Bridge.
Of the injured players, Levi Colwill and Christopher Nkunku are most likely to return to the squad. After Gilchrist was forced off injured during the latter stages against Spurs, and it is plausible that Pochettino could move Chalobah to right-back and use Colwill in the middle from the opening whistle.
Darren Plant
