07 January 2024 , 00:57
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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was spotted in the midst of an awkward exchange with Blues star Cole Palmer following the FA Cup win over Preston North End.
The west Londoners looked way off the pace for the first 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge and the Championship outfit managed to hold their hosts to go in to the interval with the scores locked at 0-0. However, the second half saw the floodgates open and Chelsea eventually ran out 4-0 winners.
Goals from Armando Broja, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling and Enzo Fernandez ensured Pochettino's men booked their place in the next round of the competition. Despite the result, Pochettino wasn't exactly all smiles come the full-time whistle.
Palmer managed to get himself an assist with Chelsea's second after Silva nodded home from his corner, but that alone was not enough to prevent him from being the subject what looked like an intense chat with his boss. Pochettino explained during his post-match media duties he was "disappointed" by the fact the former Manchester City star failed to get on the scoresheet himself.
Discussing the 21-year-old, Pochettino revealed: "Very impressed. I think he arrived the last day of the transfer window and his performance after six months, incredible.
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"Today a little bit disappointed because he didn't score a big chance he has and he's young and still needs to improve in different areas. He needs to understand many things but is improving a lot, a very good player for us and he is doing fantastic and I am so pleased."
HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Pochettino's assessment of Palmer accurate? Comment below
Mauricio Pochettino was spotted in what looked to be a heated exchange with Cole Palmer come full-timeIn what has been a drastically underwhelming start to Pochettino's life at Stamford Bridge, Palmer has been a rare shining light. In 20 outings for the Blues, the City academy graduate has managed eight goals and seven assists.
With that said, Palmer was recently warned by former Tottenham star and pundit Garth Crooks over his lack of defensive contribution during last weekend's win over Luton Town.
"The only bright spark for the visitors was Palmer, whose two goals were taken quite brilliantly," Crooks told BBC Sport. "But the English midfielder needs to watch himself.
"Ducking out of headers on defensive set plays doesn't endear yourself to your team-mates, neither does suddenly losing touch with the game having scored two goals when really he should have been searching for his hat-trick."