Mauricio Pochettino praised three of his Chelsea players after they beat his former side Spurs 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
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moved up to eighth in the league after goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson secured a double over their rivals.
Chalobah opened the scoring in the first half with a header from a Conor Gallagher
free-kick, before Nicolas Jackson reacted quickest to Cole Palmer
‘s free-kick striking the bar in the 71st minute.
Chelsea have been a real mixed bag under Pochettino, blowing hot and cold and struggling for consistency.
But on Thursday night, Pochettino
was delighted with the showings from three members of his young squad.
He waxed lyrical about winger Noni Madueke, hailing him “as unbelievable” for excelling in two areas.
“Noni Madueke today, for me, unbelievable,” he told a press conference.
“If you analyse him from the start of the season; all the conversations and meetings, clips and videos, things like this.
“He was capable today of doing a fantastic job with the ball – of course, he is an offensive player – but without the ball he is doing a fantastic job helping Alfie [Gilchrist] defend. That is what we need for the future, to build this competitive spirit.”
Image: Getty
Pochettino also reserved praise for youth products Chalobah and Gallagher, who were both tipped to move on in the summer.
He added: “Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher were fantastic as players that grew in this club”.
Chelsea could yet still qualify for Europe next season as they are just two points behind seventh-placed Newcastle.
But with the way in which Pochettino was talking in his post-match interview,
many wonder whether he will be still be around next term.
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He told Sky Sports: “It’s not my decision whether to be here or not to be here [next season].
“I can’t say nothing. What I can say is if after the decision, if we want to match the history of Chelsea it’s a lot of work to do. We’ll see if we have time to build this way.”
The Blues return to action on Sunday when they host West Ham.
