Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has denied the suggestion Gary Neville's criticism of his team helped inspire them to an FA Cup win against Leeds.

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• Neville slammed Pochettino's team
• Chelsea bounced back with win vs Leeds
• Coach denies criticism inspired team

• Table of Contents

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Chelsea were labelled "billion pound bottle jobs" by ex-Manchester United star Neville after they lost 1-0 to Liverpool in extra time of the Carabao Cup final last weekend. The Blues bounced back days later when they beat Leeds in the fifth round of the FA Cup, but it was no easy feat given they went 1-0 down early on and required a 90th minute winner from substitute Conor Gallagher to seal their place in the quarter-finals.

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  WHAT POCHETTINO SAID

  Asked if Neville's comments may have had a positive impact heading into the midweek match at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino told reporters: "No, no good thing. To be professional, they want to win. We didn't win Wednesday because of the comment of Gary. The players follow my vision and the way that I behave. They only pay attention because here in England when important people like Gary is talking this way, of course you pay attention but then you move on."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Pochettino defended his team from Neville's criticism before the win against the Championship team, saying: "It’s not fair to talk in this way". The Sky Sports pundit has since admitted that he is "not proud" of his comments about the London club, and admitted that he was "too harsh".

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  Chelsea are currently 11th in the Premier League and will hope to start climbing into the top half of the table by picking up a win against Brentford on Saturday. After that, they will meet Newcastle in the league on March 11.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News