Latest Chelsea news with Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate impressed by the display of Axel Disasi up against Manchester City’s Erling Haaland...CONTINUE READING
Axel Disasi has been emphatically thanked by Liverpool star Ibrahima Konate after his stunning display for Chelsea against Erling Haaland’s Manchester City. At Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening, the Blues picked up an unlikely point with Raheem Sterling’s first half goal only cancelled out by a late deflected strike from Rodri.
Prior to Sterling’s opener, Chelsea had the better chances with Nicolas Jackson denied by Ederson after a flowing counter-attack however Sterling made no mistake in a similar situation just a few minutes later.
Eventually, with just seven minutes to play, their resistance was broken with a loose ball falling to Rodri who fired home via the outstretched leg of Chalobah to snatch a point. The result now means Chelsea have taken four points off the reigning champions this season, but it was the performance Pochettino was keen to discuss.
: “We scored first. The first half was a very good game. We are so pleased. I think I told the players that I am so pleased and congratulate them; the effort was massive. The spirit we showed today, I think it’s the way we want to compete in this way.
“Of course, so pleased because we played against a team that is the best in the world, never easy. And today, the character they showed, the personality the players and the team, it makes me very, very happy.”
‘I can’t remember a better defensive performance (than Disasi),” he said on Sky Sports. “He was brilliant. That was almost like a bit of a throwback, backs against the wall.” Pep Guardiola’s side dropping points saw them remain third in the table after emphatic wins earlier in the day for title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.
However, Man City can close the gap further with their game in hand to come against Brentford this coming Tuesday. Liverpool are also in action the following day as they welcome Luton Town to Anfield, however they then do not have a league fixture next weekend with the Carabao Cup final against Chelsea taking priority.
Over the coming week, the title race is sure to have more twists and turns but currently Man City are below Liverpool and Arsenal. Disasi’s performance up against Haaland is a huge reason for that and Liverpool’s Konate, who is also Disasi’s international team-mate, has made his thoughts clear.
On Instagram, Disasi celebrated the win with a number of photos and the caption that read: “Huge team effort tonight! Proud of the team despite the draw. Now back to work [blue circle emoji]”. Konate then offered his thoughts, in all capital letters, with the reply: “Man of the match.”
