Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino appeared to make a dig at forward Nicolas Jackson after the Blues fell to a shock 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. There has been plenty of hype about the Senegal international following his summer transfer from Villarreal but his wastefulness in the final third against Forest cost Chelsea all three points.
Chelsea had a number of notable chances and several of those fell to Jackson – not least a glorious opening to pull the Blues level in the second half that was spurned over the bar.
Pochettino wants his forward players to be more ruthless if they’re to pick up the results they desire.
He said: “Today, we created chances. We were not clinical enough in the last third. We should score if we want to win, make one mistake and concede.”
Jackson caught the eye in pre-season during the Premier League Summer Series when he displayed frightening pace and confident finishing.
But despite glimmers of promise, Jackson has failed to hit the ground running in the Premier League despite netting his first Chelsea goal in the 3-0 win over Luton.
Chelsea are still yet to sign a first-team striker under Todd Boehly despite spending over £1billion and that decision could now come back to haunt them.
Christopher Nkunku will be missing until December with a knee injury and his absence means there will be extra pressure on the shoulders of young Jackson and Raheem Sterling.
Pochettino added: “In this type of game, I think it would help us to be more mature and to feel the competition.
“It is not enough to have quality but you need to compete in a different way to match their aggression, energy and desire.”
Chelsea have now picked up just one win from their opening four top-flight matches.
The Blues had put together back-to-back victories in all competitions following the 2-1 EFL Cup win over AFC Wimbledon but Nottingham Forest made things difficult for the Blues on a sobering afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea fan Paul Merson covered the game on Gillette Soccer Saturday and has since tweeted: “Chelsea could play till Monday and wouldn’t score.”
Mykhaylo Mudryk came off the bench but couldn’t spark a second-half fightback while Noni Madueke and Ian Maatsen were also brought into the fray to try and turn the contest around.
The Blues now travel to Bournemouth after the international break but there will be plenty for Pochettino to digest and analyse before the trip to the Vitality Stadium.
Chelsea are hoping to welcome a number of first-team players back to full fitness after the international break.
The list of absentees includes Armando Broja, Trevoh Chalobah, captain Reece James, Romeo Lavia and defender Benoit Badiashile.
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