Chelsea will be smarting from yet another defeat, this time to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Mauricio Pochettino is running out of excuses as the season goes from bad to worse, and if the status quo remains until the end of the season, it would be no surprise at all to see Todd Boehly dispense with the Argentinian.
Despite having record signing Moises Caicedo in situ along with the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling, Levi Colwill and others, the Blues couldn’t even get on the scoresheet at the Riverside.
The west Londoners may remain favourites to go through given that the second leg will be back at Stamford Bridge, however, the pressure will all be on the home side.
Palmer was guilty of missing the easiest chance of the night, and it’s still a mystery as to how he didn’t score.
How has Cole Palmer MISSED from there? ? pic.twitter.com/XWzfUO0gKd
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 9, 2024
Ahead of the match he spoke with Sky Sports about how pleased he was with making the decision to join the Blues, albeit he’d never wanted to leave Man City in the first place.
“My thing was to never leave City,” he said.
“That was not my intention. I wanted to go on loan for a year, come back and be ready for the first team.
“But they said I couldn’t go on loan, either stay or you get sold. So then, Chelsea rang me. I said I wanted to go to Chelsea and I’m really happy to be here.
“I’m very glad I made the decision to come here.”
No one can doubt the influence the England international has had on his new club either, with Sky Sports also noting that he’s Chelsea’s top scorer (8), top provider of assists (4), top chance creator (27), top big chance creator (7) and second in the list for shots taken (38).