Mauricio Pochettino Cancels Day Off for Chelsea Players After Newcastle United Drubbing

Mauricio Pochettino Cancels Day Off for Chelsea Players After Newcastle United Drubbing

Martin Moses
updated at February 13, 2024 at 11:54 AM
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  • Mauricio Pochettino cancelled the off day of Chelsea players after defeat to Newcastle United
  • The Blues were blown away at St.James Park after a mediocre second-half performance
  • The defeat ended Chelsea's unbeaten three-game run in all competitions

Mauricio Pochettino ripped into his Chelsea players following their humbling defeat to Newcastle United on November 25.

The Blues shipped in four goals in a catastrophic performance at St.James Park that saw captain Reece James sent off for two bookable offences.

Reece James, Newcastle United vs Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino
Referee Simon Hooper sends off Reece James during Chelsea''s game against Newcastle United on November 25. Photo by Visionhaus.
Source: Getty Images

Chelsea headed into this game on the back of impressive performances against title contenders Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City and were hoping to keep the steady run of form going.

Raheem Sterling cancelled Alexander Isak's opener, but the West London side collapsed in the second half with Pochettino watching from the stands.

No off day for Chelsea players

The Argentine was serving a touchline ban after picking up three yellow cards this season. Speaking after the game, the former Paris Saint-Germain manager revealed that he had cancelled the players' day off for an extra day of training.

"We were talking after in the dressing room, after the game, because in a normal way, I think we should go directly to the hotel and sleep and start to train tomorrow early in the morning and no day off," as quoted by Telegraph Sport.

Pochettino also shed light on what might have gone wrong for his side, who risk falling to the second half of the table if Wolves beat Fulham on Monday night.

"We cannot complain about the result; we did not read the game from the beginning. We did not play how we should play; we showed a lack of intensity and energy."

Their next game is against Brighton and Hove Albion at home on December 3.

Thiago Silva apologises to Chelsea fans

Sports Brief has also reported that Thiago Silva has penned a heartfelt apology to his Chelsea teammates and fans following their humbling defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.

Taking to his social media pages, Silva accepted blame for his role in the defeat, promising to do better.

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)