This is the big one for Chelsea. The players. And, in particular, the manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
Nothing but a win will be expected here in the League Cup final, especially against an injury-hit Liverpool team.
If Chelsea are to secure that trophy, then they are going to need their defence to be resolute and showcase the strength they did against Manchester City, which includes players like Axel Disasi.
Whilst fans have raved about his performances recently, he seemed to cop it in a little bit from Tim Sherwood ahead of the Wembley showpiece, as he told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (24/02/24 at 13:30 pm).
Whilst the former Premier League manager praised Axel Disasi for how defends his box, he claimed that the £39 million signing simply ‘can’t handle the ball’ and has a ‘leather allergy’.
Those comments resulted in Paul Merson laughing, with the boyhood Chelsea fan backing Mauricio Pochettino’s side to do the job if Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez don’t start.
Of course, life will be much easier for the London club if you take away that attacking threat, but these players have already shown they can cope against the best.
Their performances away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup and the Premier League tie against Manchester City is proof of that, with Axel Disasi playing a huge part in both.
Axel Disasi on the ball
“I think Chelsea’s best chance is to defend their box,” said Sherwood. “Pretty much what they did against Manchester City.
“Axel Disasi is okay doing that. When you are asking him to get up on the halfway line and get up on the halfway line, that’s when he struggles.
“He can’t handle the ball. He has got a leather allergy,” added Sherwood, as Paul Merson laughed in the background. “He doesn’t want the football. He wants to head it, put his body on the, and that’s great. If you are defending the six-yard box or the 18-yard box – it looks like he loves celebrating a little block and cross.”
Merson added: “We will take anything at Chelsea.”
Trophy or bust for Mauricio Pochettino
It’s pretty simple, if Pochettino wins this, then it could be THE turning point for a club that has drastically declined in two years.
That isn’t all the fault of Pochettino, in fact, not even half of it, but the call to go down the road of buying younger players needs some validity.
Winning the League Cup and beating a team like Liverpool would be evidence of that.
If not, Pochettino will be known as the ex-Tottenham manager and the powers that be at Chelsea will come under even more fire.
That will just continue to spill into the rest of the season and it would be another abject ending for the team.
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