Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino visibly enjoyed his side’s 3-2 victory over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, leaping into the air at one point as the Blues built a two-goal lead en route to the home win.
The Blues have found their way back to the outskirts of the European picture, a point off the top-half with a match-in-hand on the closest five rivals, after Cole Palmer had a goal and an assist to again drive the young side.
[ MORE: Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle highlights, player ratings ]
Pochettino acknowledges that the poor performance in Chelsea’s League Cup Final loss was a setback, but has been adamant in subsequent weeks that the club’s success would come with time, even amid occasional and loud jeers from the home crowd.
It was a more positive Stamford Bridge on Monday. And Pochettino says the backing was appreciated... and deserved.
Mauricio Pochettino reaction to Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle
Here are select quotes from Pochettino’s postgame interview, aired on USA Network and NBC.com.
“Football is about joy, sometime you suffer,” Pochettino said. “I think we were decent. We played a very good team. Newcastle is a fantastic team with amazing players. It was really tough. The victory was good for us, but we keep looking forward, moving forward, and the most important thing is the three points to keep the feelings.”
“It was a little disappointed in the way we conceded two goals. Two mistakes that should never happen, but that is about our majority. The defensive line is the first time they played together. There will be better coordination, better decisions .. The two that we concede, two mistakes for us. It is part of the process of our young team. The competition is tough, the Premier League. We were talking a lot about howe we can improve. I am very happy in the way that the whole team is progressing and of course there are good and not-so-good performances. We have to accept that, and keep pushing.”
