03 December 2023 , 21:45
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Mauricio Pochettino praised his Chelsea players for showing fight after winning the latest Battle of the Bridge against Brighton.
The Blues added to the worst disciplinary record in the Premier League when Connor Gallagher was sent off in the first half. And the match ended in a mass melee between players and managers after Chelsea held on for a thrilling 3-2 win. Goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Jason Steele, and Levi Colwill and Adam Lallana. were all involved.
A tense match saw Chelsea given a penalty after a VAR review - and Brighton denied the chance to equalise when referee Craig Pawson over-ruled his own decision to give the visitors a late penalty. Pochettino had slammed his players after the tame defeat at Newcastle in their last game.
But the Argentine, who was Spurs boss when his team lost a bruising battle with Chelsea in 2016, said: “It’s football, it’s emotional, no. You are playing for many things. At the end it was massive confusion. I wanted to talk and: ‘Oh why you push me’ and it became a massive confusion.
“Am I pleased with the reaction of my players after the game? Yes because it is not just about how you want to play or your philosophy on the pitch. We need to be a team and behave like a team.”
And Pochettino defended his captain Gallagher: “It wasn’t a sending off. It happens. We are a young team. We need to improve. In this type of period we are a little more aggressive after Newcastle. We needed to show our real face.
Mauricio Pochettino during Chelsea's win over Brighton (Matt Impey/REX/Shutterstock) HAVE YOUR SAY! Can Chelsea finish in the top four? Comment below.
"We wanted to play well, be aggressive and show we care. We wanted to win the game. The crowd was proud. I am so proud of the players and the character they showed.”
Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi was warned after claiming last month he didn’t like 80% of referees here and has now turned into Arsene Wenger " “I don’t want to speak about the referee,” said the Italian. “I can talk about football but with the referee I didn’t see anything.
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“I have to accept every decision. Referees are people like coaches and can mistakes. I don't know if it was a mistake or not. The penalty on Mudryk is clear or not. At the end I spoke with the referee, congratulations for the game but I didn’t see anything.”