“Start using him now” – Mauricio Pochettino must now start 22-year-old Chelsea man after what happened last night
If Mauricio Pochettino’s comments about last night’s EFL Cup match being the biggest game of Chelsea’s season so far were true, it certainly didn’t translate to the players who were on the pitch.
They were beaten 1-0 by Middlesbrough in the first leg of the semi-final at the Riverside, with the match taking a similar pattern to one supporters have seen plenty of times this season.
This is perhaps why they were more keen than usual to let supporters know exactly what they thought of the performance.
This saw Thiago Silva and a number of other players approach to try and diffuse the situation, but frustration was clear to be seen.
They may have been angriest that the manager decided not to start a recognised striker, and instead used Cole Palmer in a false nine.
The experiment failed though, and the 21-year-old had his first real individual poor display since joining the club.
Broja has to start from now
After what he saw last night, there is now no real excuse for Armando Broja to not be given a run in the team in the absence of Nicolas Jackson.
Despite the stick the Senegal international has come in for at times, it will perhaps be only now he isn’t here that he is appreciated.
Broja however was back amongst the goals at the weekend in the FA Cup, and has been struggling to tie down regular minutes since returning from injury.
Until he ties down regular minutes, it would be extremely unfair to be too critical of the 22-year-old and what he is doing on the pitch.
With a Premier League game against Fulham followed by the now-crucial EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Middlesbrough, Broja could be about to make Chelsea think again when it comes to their plans in the transfer market.