"Football is a collective sport" - Mauricio Pochettino aims dig at Chelsea attacker after 3-2 Leeds United win
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has singled out Mykhailo Mudryk for criticism despite his goal in the Blues' FA Cup win over Leeds United yesterday (February 28).
The west Londoners locked horns with Daniel Farke's men at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round of the tournament. A sloppy attempt to play out the back saw Chelsea get dispossessed and concede a goal within the first eight minutes.
Nicolas Jackson scored the equalizer seven minutes later after an excellent link-up play between the Senegalese forward, Noni Madueke, and Moises Caicedo.
Mykhailo Mudryk found the back of the net later on in the first half, scoring his fifth goal of the season. Leeds forward Mateo Joesph grabbed his brace in the second half before Conor Gallagher's 90th-minute winner secured Chelsea's place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Pochettino highlighted an aspect of Mudryk's game that he needs to work on despite the Ukrainian netting against Leeds.
He said (via Metro):
"Mudryk has amazing talent. But he needs to understand that football is a collective sport. You put your talent in the service of the team. For that, you need time. [But] it’s not only Mudryk."
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss added:
"There are a few other players, because they are so young. They [sometimes] forget they need to recover their position, press and work hard. Of course, it is important he scored to build his confidence."
The Blues will next face Brentford in the Premier League at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday (March 2).
"He give it away too easily" - Pundit criticizes Chelsea star for losing the ball 'too many times' against Leeds
Former Chelsea man Glenn Murray has called out Nicolas Jackson for being dispossessed too often in his side's win over Leeds.
While the Senegal international found the equalizer that brought his side back into the game, he was poor in retaining possession, losing the ball 17 times in the encounter (via SofaScore).
While covering the FA Cup fifth-round clash for BBC Sport, Murray said (as quoted by TBR Football):
“Too many times the ball goes to Nicolas Jackson and he give it away too easily. It breaks down way too often when the ball is in possession of the Chelsea striker.”
The west London outfit signed Jackson from Villarreal last summer for a reported £32 million fee. The Senegal international has scored 10 goals and provided three assists in 29 appearances across competitions this season.