Mauricio Pochettino admitted Chelsea says his team needs to ‘improve in many areas’ because they lost the lead two times in a disappointing 2-2 draw against Burnley.
Before the game, Pochettino said the data from the club’s analysts indicated that his young Chelsea team deserved to be in the top four.
However, the Blues are now in mid-table, 17 points behind the Champions League qualifying pace after another disappointing match.
The Blues seemed to be on track for a comfortable afternoon when Cole Palmer scored with a 41st minute penalty after Lorenz Assignon was given a second yellow card.
Josh Cullen surprised Stamford Bridge with a great equaliser shortly after the break, but Palmer’s second goal seemed to have settled the match.
Chelsea’s fragile confidence was evident again when Djordje Petrovic allowed Dara O’Shea’s header to go through his hands and into the net for a soft equalizer.
A disappointed Pochettino was upset with the fragility his team showed and admitted that they are most vulnerable when they are winning.
‘I am so disappointed,' he said. ‘We didn’t show the consistency and the ability to deal with and control the game. We allowed them to have some chances from set pieces.
‘The result shows that we need to improve in many areas if we want to be competitive.
‘It was too easy for them to get to our last third. We were not aggressive enough in open play and defending set pieces. We need to improve as a team and be more competitive.
‘The team is a bit nervous when winning 1-0. It is not only about working, it is about evolving and developing some areas in our team to deal better with this type of situation.’
On the controversial incident that led to his team taking the lead and resulted in a sending off for Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, Pochettino added: ‘I don’t know what is going on there.
‘I think it was a penalty and a second yellow card. I can understand their frustration but it is football.
‘VAR disallowed a goal for Disasi but we are not going to complain. We understand the VAR decision and accept the rules.’
