Man City vs Chelsea, Pochettino refuses to play defensively

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino emphasized that his team does not want to play defensively when facing defending champions Manchester City in the 2023/2024 Premier League, Saturday (17/2/2024) evening local time or Sunday (18/2/2024) early morning WIB.

Pochettino said that playing with defensive tactics could actually be a disaster when facing a team like The Citizen, nicknamed Manchester City.

“If we come here (Etihad Stadium, City's headquarters) and choose to defend, then they are a team that can dominate you and make you suffer,” said Pochettino in a press conference ahead of the match, quoted by AFP, Saturday (17/2/ 2024).

“The most important thing we realized was that we needed to attack, be able to run and try as hard as we could. The most important thing was to go there and be brave, challenge them,” added the Argentinian coach.

Pochettino also highlighted the appearance of Cole Palmer, a former Manchester City player who now plays for Chelsea. Palmer, who was recruited for a transfer fee of 40 million euros, is Chelsea's top scorer and is expected to have a positive influence in the match against his old team.

“He's not the type of player who needs to prove anything. I think he is very grateful for his career at Manchester City, but he left the club because he wanted to look for another challenge and wanted to play more often,” added the former Tottenham Hotspur and PSG coach.

In the 2023/2024 Premier League standings, Chelsea is stuck in 10th place with 34 points. Meanwhile, Manchester City collected 52 points or two points different from Liverpool who topped the standings.