Following Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Championship team Middlesbrough in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Tuesday at the Riverside, manager Mauricio Pochettino lamented his squad’s well-known lack of creativity.
On 38 minutes, Hayden Hackney scored the lone goal as Pochettino’s lavishly built team of stars once again fell short on the road.
Since the start of the previous season, Chelsea has suffered the most road losses of any Premier League side, having lost five of their past six away games.
The Blues must turn the tie around when the sides meet again at Stamford Bridge on January 23 to avoid heaping more pressure on Pochettino’s position during a disappointing first season in charge for the Argentine.
“If we assess the performance overall we were the better side, had clear chances, but we didn’t score and weren’t clinical,” said Pochettino. “It happened a lot this season.”
Boro boss Michael Carrick could have been forgiven for cursing his luck after losing top scorer Emmanuel Latte Lath to injury after just three minutes.
Carrick was also forced to withdraw Alex Bangura inside 20 minutes but the second-tier side was not fazed.
“It’s very special,” said the former Manchester United midfielder. “I know it’s a two-legged affair and there is still all to play for, but for what we’ve had to go through, the injuries, the setbacks we’ve had, to beat a team of Chelsea’s quality is unbelievable.”
Middlesbrough had not scored against Chelsea for over 17 years. The Blues had won the past nine meetings by an aggregate score of 21-0.
However, the home side ended that drought eight minutes before half-time.
