Mauricio Pochettino asked Chelsea fans to “trust” him and support Raheem Sterling after their FA Cup quarterfinal scare over Leicester City.
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Late-game scare
Both Pochettino and Sterling were booed by Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge after blowing a two-goal halftime lead from Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer.
However, Axel Disasi scored a comical own goal six minutes after the break before Stephy Mavididi unleashed an equalizer.
Fans began to relentlessly boo the Argentine coach when he fielded Carney Chukwuemeka for Mykhailo Mudryk in the 78th minute.
To make things worse, angry Chelsea supporters began to shout “you don’t know what you’re doing” towards Pochettino. Sterling also received a “get him off” chant after he skied a free-kick.
Stoppage-time goals from Chukwuemeka and Noni Madueke sealed their second cup semi-final appearance this season.
Pochettino wants “trust” from fans
Pochettini pleaded with the fans to “trust” his decision-making and support the players no matter what.
“I am not the manager here to do what the people want,” Pochettino said. “Also, I am not stupid. I did it to go again. For me, I saw Mudryk. We analyse, he was tired and doing some stretching. We thought maybe he will not finish the game and we decide to go first for Mudryk and then for Raheem.
“That is because we need to see everything. We are professional. We want to win but of course, completely understand the situation. That doesn’t mean that I agree. But look, we are going to support Mudryk, Raheem, and all the players in the squad.
“I not only ask the [fans] to trust me,” Pochettino added.
“They need to trust the club because in the end if I am here it is the decision of the club and they need to trust the project of the club, as well as me and the club. They need to trust that the club is doing what they think is good for the club and for the fans. It is about trusting everyone.”
