“He was ill”- Pochettino explains reason behind Chelsea trio’s absence in Bournemouth draw

Mauricio Pochettino on the exclusion of Cucurella, Madueke and Caicedo in Chelsea’s draw vs Bournemouth

According to popular Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has commented on the exclusion of Blues star Marc Cururella, Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo from the game against Bournemouth.

Chelsea failed to win yet another game against Bournemouth’s side with a 0-0 draw. Pochettino failed to inspire his side to a win yet again. The Blues have had a dismal start to the new season and have won just one of their first five games in charge and sit 14th in the Premier League table.

Pochettino deployed a new formation in this game, reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 and playing an extra winger in Mykhalo Mudryk. However, not much changed on the pitch though and the Blues scraped their way through the 90 minutes. They are extremely ineffective in front of goal.

https://x.com/fabrizioromano/status/1703432526914556077?s=46&t=cIljGOJaIk70Rg4pjCzwOw

The Blues are playing a great brand of football and their quality is really good. They create many chances but clinically in front of goal, they are found lacking. Chelsea are really trying a lot on the pitch but it looks like the team needs time to gel together and find a way to win games.

Three players who totally missed out on the game were Marc Cucurella, Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo. The latter is a sure-shot starter for the manager but the same cannot be said about Cucurella and Madueke who have been reduced to bit-part roles for much of the season until now.

Speaking about the situation, here is what Pochettino had to say about why the trio missed the game today and it was all due to different kinds of physical issues.

“So, Cucurella was not available due to fever. He was ill. Noni Madueke came from the national team with a muscle problem, we will also assess Moisés Caicedo tomorrow”

An unnamed club have made a bid to sign Chelsea target Moises Caicedo.
Chelsea have signed Moises Caicedo. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images for Premier League)

Madueke and Cucurella are both talented players and need time to come good. Both are very young and will come good with time. Pochettino must place his trust in the duo as we have all seen what the Spaniard can do at Brighton. Let’s see if they can work their way into his plans.

Caicedo on the other hand will have to get better as his first few performances for the Blues hasn’t been that great. The Ecuadorian will be hoping to get better and show Chelsea why they paid all the money to sign him from the Seagulls. It will be important for him to come good.

More Chelsea News

An important decision awaits Pochettino. Let’s see how the Argentinian goes about handling the fringe players in his squad.