Chelsea vs Tottenham: Pochettino Tak Mau Salahkan Pemain

Saksikan video pilihan berikut ini: Manajer Tottenham, Mauricio Pochettino komentari kemungkinan Gareth Bale kembali ke The Lily Whites.

Jakarta - Belum lagi bermain, Gonzalo Higuain sudah mendapat hati suporter Chelsea . Dia mendapat sambutan meriah saat diperkenalkan sebagai pemain baru The Blues sebelum laga Chelsea vs Tottenham Hospur di semifinal kedua Piala Liga Inggris, Kamis (24/1) atau Jumat dini hari WIB.

Suporter Chelsea melakukan standing ovation begitu anouncer Stadion Stamford Bridge menyebut nama Higuain. Penyerang berusia 31 tahun itu pun tampak begitu semringah dan membalas sambutan fans dengan lambaian tangan.

Higuain sendiri tampak langsung "menyatu" dengan kubu The Blues. Duduk di tribune Chelsea, pemain asal Argentina ini begitu serius menyaksikan laga yang berakhir 2-1 dan dilanjutkan dengan adu penalti untuk kemenangan Chelsea itu.

Bersama suporter Chelsea, Higuain ikut bertepuk tangan meledek, saat pemain Tottenham, Moussa Sissoko, mendapat kartu kuning. Higuain tampak tak ingin membuang kesempatan untuk mencuri hati suporter The Blues.

Higuain sendiri sebenarnya diharapkan bisa tampil di pertandingan ini. Namun, pihak Chelsea terlambat mendapat kepastian bergabungnya penyerang yang terakhir dipinjam AC Milan itu. Higuain pun urung didaftarkan untuk laga ini.

Higuain dipinjam Chelsea dari Juventus, klub pemilik kontraknya hingga akhir musim. Namun, The Blues diberi opsi untuk mempermanenkan kontraknya atau membelinya di akhir musim dengan harga 31 juta pound sterling atau sekitar Rp 571 miliar.

Chelsea berharap Higuain menjadi solusi keringnya gol dari lini depan mereka. Pasalnya, sejauh ini, dua penyerang The Blues, Alvaro Morata dan Olivier Giroud, total hanya mampu mencetak 14 gol.

Sementara Higuain, punya rekam jejak cukup mentereng sebagai pencetak gol ulung. Dia pernah menjadi top scorer Liga Italia dengan mencetak 36 gol dari 35 di musim 2015/16, saat membela Napoli.

Ketika itu, Napoli dilatih Maurizio Sarri, sosok yang saat ini menjadi manajer Chelsea .

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For all the tension in that penalty shoot-out for Tottenham Hotspur, it is not as great as the tension at the core of how this squad is managed. The latter certainly played a large part in the story of this latest cup defeat against Chelsea.

On the one side, there is the increasing danger that this exciting core of players – that has so enlivened the Premier League and the history of the club – could end up being broken up without ever winning anything together. A fear that will only now grow after every defeat like this, after every trophy that passes them by.

On the other side, there is the fact that two of the most prominent of that core – Harry Kane and Dele Alli – were not even playing in this game.

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That alone explains why Mauricio Pochettino was “disappointed”, but by no means dejected. Amid one of the worst injury crises he has faced, and with a team where every one of the starting XI has endured a fitness problem at some point this season, Spurs did well to respond to going behind and then go the distance.

“We made an unbelievable effort,” Pochettino argued. “This season we are fighting not only with the opponents with everything that’s happened. That is not an excuse.”

Shape Created with Sketch. Chelsea vs Tottenham player ratings Show all 22 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Chelsea vs Tottenham player ratings 1/22 Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6 Getty Images 2/22 Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 EPA 3/22 Antonio Rudiger - 6 AP 4/22 David Luiz - 6 AP 5/22 Emerson - 6 Getty 6/22 N'golo Kante - 8 PA 7/22 Jorginho - 7 AP 8/22 Ross Barkley - 6 AFP/Getty Images 9/22 Pedro - 6 EPA 10/22 Olivier Giroud - 7 AP 11/22 Eden Hazard - 8 AP 12/22 Paulo Gazzaniga - 6 AFP/Getty Images 13/22 Serge Aurier - 6 Action Images via Reuters 14/22 Toby Alderweireld - 7 PA 15/22 Jan Vertonghen - 7 (Credit too long, see caption) 16/22 Ben Davies - 5 (Credit too long, see caption) 17/22 Eric Dier- 6 AP 18/22 Moussa Sissoko - 6 (Credit too long, see caption) 19/22 Harry Winks - 6 PA 20/22 Christian Eriksen - 6 REUTERS 21/22 Erik Lamela - 6 AP 22/22 Fernando Llorente - 7 AFP/Getty Images 1/22 Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6 Getty Images 2/22 Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 EPA 3/22 Antonio Rudiger - 6 AP 4/22 David Luiz - 6 AP 5/22 Emerson - 6 Getty 6/22 N'golo Kante - 8 PA 7/22 Jorginho - 7 AP 8/22 Ross Barkley - 6 AFP/Getty Images 9/22 Pedro - 6 EPA 10/22 Olivier Giroud - 7 AP 11/22 Eden Hazard - 8 AP 12/22 Paulo Gazzaniga - 6 AFP/Getty Images 13/22 Serge Aurier - 6 Action Images via Reuters 14/22 Toby Alderweireld - 7 PA 15/22 Jan Vertonghen - 7 (Credit too long, see caption) 16/22 Ben Davies - 5 (Credit too long, see caption) 17/22 Eric Dier- 6 AP 18/22 Moussa Sissoko - 6 (Credit too long, see caption) 19/22 Harry Winks - 6 PA 20/22 Christian Eriksen - 6 REUTERS 21/22 Erik Lamela - 6 AP 22/22 Fernando Llorente - 7 AFP/Getty Images

He then went on to argue why and put up a very fair case as to why this was not the “Spursy bottle job” many will argue.

“When you assess that pre-season when we were the team most affected by the World Cup, lots of circumstances. Fixtures were crazy. It put us in a very difficult moment. It was a massive challenge for us after the World Cup, and we know the circumstances. We are managing very well the situation.

“Today we are disappointed, but it’s a massive success to play against Watford, West Ham, Arsenal and then 2-2 here. You can only feel proud of the team and the effort we made. Yes, of course, disappointed and we are very sad we cannot play another game at Wembley, but competing in that way we can arrive at the end of the season doing well.”

There’s also the reality that Pochettino would much rather have Kane and Alli and pretty much all his most prominent players fit for the bigger challenges of the Premier League and Champions League.

One of the reasons he plays such weakened teams in earlier rounds – and before they get within a genuine chance of glory – is because of how limited his squad is compared to better-resourced rivals, who are better equipped to fight on more fronts.

It is a calculated gamble he is willing to take because he realises he needs to have that core fully firing in order to over-perform in the league as they’ve often done.

Spurs have thereby managed that tension well, but it should also be a source of frustration.

This is the clash of a certain realpolitik against the glory that fires the imagination that football is really about.

Pochettino is not the only one making a calculation, balancing a situation. There is also Daniel Levy. This defeat emphasised how Spurs now need something to lift the club even more – and especially a signing. It is that irritating dilemma, and knock-on effect.

The club might actually be in the League Cup final had they signed the forward they needed, but the defeat has only meant they need the boost of a signing even more.

It does feel a little needless that Pochettino’s chances of ending his and Spurs’ trophy droughts essentially hung on the fact he had to pretty much put out anyone who was fit enough to start.

At the same time, there are those that believe that – as much as anything – the Argentine actually revels in the perception of him as a manager who defies the odds; who can achieve alchemic feats.

There’s also another tension. Pochettino’s repeated over-performance in regularly reaching the Champions League will mean far more to his international reputation as a manager than any domestic cup win. This is why he so prioritises the primary competitions.

But what of his legacy at the club? He will go down as one of their greatest managers regardless, but it his era will feel that little bit hollower if there is no one trophy to touch from it; no day to truly remember.

There is a tension in that as well. It is one that, for all the progress and overachievement, the club still hasn’t overcome.

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Eden Hazard hopes that Gonzalo Higuain’s goals can make the difference for Chelsea now that he has completed his move from AC Milan, and that he can finally replace the penalty box ruthlessness of Diego Costa.

The Argentine striker was paraded before fans at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night and is set to make his debut against Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Chelsea have struggled with their number 9 options ever since Diego Costa fell out with Antonio Conte two years ago, even before he went back to Atletico Madrid. So far this season Alvaro Morata has five league goals and Olivier Giroud just one. Hazard is their top league goalscorer with 10.

But Hazard cannot do it all himself and he is looking forward to partnering with someone who has led the line for Real Madrid, Juventus and Napoli over the years.

And who can give Chelsea that extra edge in the penalty area that they have been missing. He thinks Higuain can be just as good as Costa, the man whose strength and courage helped the team to the Premier League titles in 2014-15 and 2016-17.

“For me as a winger you know I like to play with top players,” Hazard said after Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Tottenham. “With Chelsea I had the chance to play with one of the best in Diego Costa for three years, and I think Higuain is one of the best. I also like to play with Olivier when he is playing, with Alvaro when he was playing.”

Hazard praised Giroud’s team play but he said that Chelsea have lacked a finisher in the box this year, the job that Higuain can do.

“This season we are playing well, but sometimes we miss the one guy just to score one goal,” he said. “So we had a couple of games, where we played well but we didn’t score. We finished with zero goals, but we created a lot of chances, like today. If you have a striker who can score three goals it finishes 5-1, but at the moment it is not the case. But Higuain can do that. He is a top striker who can score everywhere.”

Giroud does not need to score goals to help the team – look at France in the World Cup last year – and Hazard praised him for his work, although he admitted that the team needs a penalty box presence.

“When Olivier is playing he tries to do his best for the team, but I think he is more like a team player than just a striker who can score goals,” Hazard said. “Diego was sometimes not this kind of player who you can play a 1-2 with, but in the box he was amazing. That is what we need. Higuain is this kind of player, he can link, but he can also be the proper striker."

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