Carabao Cup: Why Chelsea lost 1-0 to Middlesbrough

Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino has reflected on their 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The Blues failed to dominate the hosts and missed several big chances, with Cole Palmer especially being culpable.

Hayden Hackney’s finish in the first half proved to be decisive ahead of the return leg at Stamford Bridge.

“It is difficult to talk about our performance. We made some mistakes where we were punished and they scored.

“It was difficult to break down and we created some chances, but we were not clinical enough.

“Now we need to think about Fulham [on Saturday] and then prepare for the second leg,” Pochettino told BBC Radio 5 Live.