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Mauricio Pochettino eyes Wembley return and a good night’s sleep for his players

Mauricio Pochettino revealed some Chelsea players had a sleepless night before their Carabao Cup final defeat (Zac Goodwin/PA)
Mauricio Pochettino revealed some Chelsea players had a sleepless night before their Carabao Cup final defeat (Zac Goodwin/PA)

Mauricio Pochettino revealed “some Chelsea players did not sleep” before their Carabao Cup final defeat to Liverpool in February.

The Blues boss said the high expectations of the occasion impacted individuals in the squad prior to their late 1-0 defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s men.

Pochettino believes the experience of playing at Wembley will help prevent a repeat of such problems if his team advance into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final clash with Leicester, Pochettino said: “The expectations can be so high and low and the mood (of the players) depends on the day.

“For us to beat Leicester will be massive for us because there is a possibility for this team to play at Wembley again.

“Some players did not sleep the day before the (Carabao Cup) final and that is about experience in these situations and it has to be better.

“For us to challenge in the final and play in Europe through the FA Cup will be massive.

“We learned through experience and with the pain (of defeat) we learn more.”

Cole Palmer’s standout performance in the Blues’ 3-2 victory over Newcastle on Monday took his Premier League goal tally for the season to 11.

Palmer’s long-range strike in the second half helped earn him a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Pochettino lauded the “special” 21-year-old after an impressive debut season in west London since his reported £42.5million move from Manchester City in the summer.

“I saw Gareth (Southgate) and we talked (about Palmer) a few days ago,” he added.

“I think it’s not a surprise that he’s showing a great personality and character in the way he adapted so quick to a new club.

“To deal with a new job like Chelsea is what makes him special.

Cole Palmer file photo
Cole Palmer has been named in England’s squad for the forthcoming matches against Brazil and Belgium (PA)

“The most important thing is how he deals with the pressure. We have some other good players but sometimes they can struggle.”

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca, whose side sit top of the Sky Bet Championship, has prospered his first season in management since he left Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at City last year.

Pochettino talked up the Italian manager’s impact at the King Power Stadium.

The Argentinian added: “He’s doing a fantastic job so congratulations to him and now it’s a tougher moment because in the last period you need to be solid and confirm all what you’re doing.”