Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was quite disappointed with his side in their 2-2 draw with Burnley and said as much after the game.
Chelsea took the lead twice and played against 10 men for the entire second half after Lorenz Assignon was dismissed towards the end of the first.
“Agreed,” Mauricio Pochettino said to football.london and the rest of the English media when discussing whether it was two points dropped.
“Very disappointed in the way that in the second-half we managed or deal with the situation.”
Individually, there were some poor performances, and Pochettino may need to make some big decisions going forward.
Photo by Stephanie Meek – CameraSport via Getty Images
Who played poorly against Burnley?
Nicolas Jackson and Conor Gallagher are two names that instantly spring to mind.
Jackson missed a couple of really good opportunities and has since been criticised by Liverpool legend Steve Nicol for doing so.
As for Gallagher, his decision-making was quite concerning at times.
Before Chelsea took the lead, the 24-year-old had a great opportunity to set up Cole Palmer, who would have had a clear shot at Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
Instead, Gallagher went for glory, which did not result in anything. It left former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy far from impressed at the time.
The Englishman has been one of the Blues’ best performers this season, but what yesterday showed is that Pochettino should not be playing him as a No.10.
Where should Conor Gallagher be playing for Chelsea?
Gallagher is not renowned for making defence-splitting passes and creating plenty of opportunities during matches.
His best attributes are his work rate and ability to win the ball back. According to WhoScored, the England international is making 2.5 tackles per game in the Premier League this season, the most in Pochettino’s squad.
Ultimately, Gallagher is probably better suited to playing in a central midfield role. That is where his manager should be starting him, though it would see one of Enzo Fernandez or Moises Caicedo being dropped if Pochettino wants to stick with a 4-2-3-1.
Costing more than £100m each, though, the above is never going to happen, while Gallagher may not be at Chelsea for much longer.
It has been claimed that some at the club feel that they can sell him in the summer for £50m. However, until then, Pochettino should consider pushing the England star a bit deeper.
