Pochettino plays down Jackson’s fan clash: ‘Very respectful’،
Mauricio Pochettino played down the row between a Chelsea fan and striker Nicolas Jackson during the 2-0 home defeat to Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
With the match goalless at halftime after an opening 45 minutes dominated by Chelsea, a supporter shouted at Jackson, with some close to the incident saying his words included the phrase: “Why don’t you score aim ?”
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Jackson, who scored twice in the Premier League in nine matches, reacted angrily and Pochettino then spoke to the supporter to defuse the incident, but he could not prevent Chelsea from slipping to their fourth Premier League defeat. season.
Asked about the brawl, Pochettino said: “It was a moment where we all felt frustrated because we played very well, created chances and didn’t score.
“That moment was a bit of a drop in energy in the stadium. He came up to me, we were talking about the position on the pitch, to find a solution and give him direction.
“Because the atmosphere was really very calm, a fan said ‘oh wake up’ and started to abuse a little — I’m not saying abuse, but it’s abuse — and for Nico, he loses a little concentration. and I say ‘hey, come on, concentrate here.’
“I say ‘stop talking that way, we have to support the players, stay behind the team’ but that’s it. Nothing more.
“It was very respectful and the fan was very respectful. He only said ‘wake up’ and the player took it badly, which is completely normal because the player wanted to score, to offer a good thing but nothing of badness.”
Chelsea manager Jesus Perez was also sent off towards the end following an argument between the two benches and there were boos at full time as they extended a poor run to just one win in their last 13 home league matches.
Although Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May 2022, Pochettino admitted his team currently lacks firepower with Armando Broja and summer signing RB Leipzig, Christopher Nkunku, both sidelined due to injury.
Asked if there were enough goals in the team, Pochettino replied: “Obviously at the moment, so far, no.
“But no luck. Nkunku proved he can score in big leagues like the Bundesliga and got injured in the last pre-season game. That kind of thing didn’t help. Then we have to recover Broja, in different circumstances. Nicolas Jackson was affected for different reasons. He is young, he arrived this season and needs time to adapt.”
