“Never looked comfortable” - Alan Shearer hits out at performance from Chelsea star in FA Cup semifinal loss vs Man City
England legend Alan Shearer has slammed Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson, as the 22-year-old failed to impress in the 1-0 FA Cup semifinal loss to Manchester City.
The Blues were unable to keep the Cityzens from pinging in the winning goal through Bernardo Silva, as the Portuguese star scored towards the end of the game. City may have come away with the win, as well as a seat in the FA Cup final, but the Blues will rue the chances they missed to win the game.
Nicolas Jackson had at least three major chances to put them ahead. He had a massive chance in the first half but was unable to take a shot at goal. Other chances where he took shots were saved, while an opportunity to attack the goal saw him shouldered off the ball by Kyle Walker.
The striker was Chelsea's route to goal through the counter, but he missed all the chances provided to him on a platter, leading Alan Shearer to slam his efforts. The England legend said about Jackson on BBC One (via TBR Football):
“Mauricio Pochettino feels Chelsea should be about fourth on expected goals, and this is exactly what he’s on about. Jackson never looked comfortable. They are absolute sitters. They really are. Three great chances for him.”
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino unhappy about missed chances against Manchester City
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was not pleased about his side's lack of a clinical edge in front of goal when they faced Manchester City in the FA Cup.
The Cityzens were coming off a 120-minute clash with Real Madrid and had more tired legs on the pitch, but the Blues failed to take advantage of that. Speaking to the press after the game, Pochettino said (via Standard):
“In football, the most important thing is to be clinical and not to concede. We competed well, I cannot say we were the better side because that in football is difficult to measure.
"The most important thing is we competed. Competing in this way, we need to take positives from the game. This type of group of players needs this type of moments in games."
The manager added:
“Now, it’s about taking the positive things and trying to build in the things that we need, the areas we need to improve. Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then to speak about how we can be better next season.”
Chelsea will end the season without a trophy, having crashed out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. They sit too far from the top of the Premier League to gain any meaningful ground, even if they win their remaining games. However, they will look to enter the top-six and fight for a place in Europe next season.