Mauricio Pochettino Admits Coaching Chelsea Is Harder Than He Thought After Dismal Start

• Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that the Chelsea job isn't going as he had thought
• Pochettino has collected a paltry 22 points from his first 18 games in charge
• Chelsea are, however, through to the Carabao Cup semifinals after beating Newcastle

Mauricio Pochettino has now admitted that the Chelsea job is much more challenging than he initially thought it would be. Pochettino has struggled to turn around the fortunes of the West London club since taking over in the summer.

The Blues struggled under four different managers last season after the new ownership of Todd Boehly took over. They finished 12 in the league, one of their worst finishes in recent times.

The club moved in for Pochettino, looking to tap into his prior Premier League experience and ability to get the best out of the young squad they had assembled.

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But with nearly half of the season gone, things have seemingly stalled at Stamford Bridge or perhaps gotten worse with her 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Christmas Eve, making it eight league losses in Pochettino's first 18 games.

"We knew it would be tough this year, but never this tough. We are so far away from the target," said the former PSG coach, as quoted by BeIN Sports.

Pochettino blamed injuries and suspensions as some of the key reasons he has yet to get his rhythm on his second stint in England.

"It makes the situation worse. We have too many important players out and too many circumstances going on from the start of the season that are out of our hands."

Chelsea welcome Crystal Palace on December 27th, looking to make it three wins in a row in the league at home. They will be without Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer, who are out with suspension, opening the way for Christopher Nkunku to make his first start.

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How Chelsea could lineup against Palace

Sports Brief reported that Pochettino has other options to play against Palace. He could line in one of his usual 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with the main problem being the attack.

If he goes for the first, Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke will play on either wing, while Nkunku will play behind one of Nicolas Jackson or Armando Broja.

Jackson could also be dropped after his performance against Wolves, which means Mudryk and Madueke could flank Nkunku as the striker.