Blues boss accuses his players of giving up during Arsenal defeat | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino admitted his Chelsea team “gave up” after conceding the third goal in their heavy defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.

The Blues turned in easily their worst performance of the season in north London as they got thrashed 5-0, with former player Kai Havertz scoring twice.

A win would have seen Pochettino’s men move up to seventh, level on points with Newcastle in sixth, but Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for Europe seem to be fading quickly following that heavy defeat.

Chelsea went 1-0 down inside the first five minutes, but managed to get to half time without conceding any further goals, and despite not deserving it still had a chance heading into the second half.

Instead, the Blues came out after half time and completely rolled over conceding four goals, with two coming in the first 15 minutes of the half.

It was a disastrous night for the Argentine, but it wasn’t difficult for him to pick out the moment his team called it a day.

“When we conceded the third goal I think the team gave up, because I think it was so tough for us to continue competing, the 52-year-old told Viaplay Fotball.

“Of course, Arsenal were better than us and we didn’t compete in the way that we are supposed to.”

It’s a damning indictment of these Chelsea players that they seemingly don’t have the fight in them to keep going until the final whistle, and it highlights the problems at the club from top to bottom.

Things don’t get any easier for the Blues as they face a tough trip to high flying Aston Villa on Saturday night in desperate need of a response.

Anything but a win at Villa Park would more than likely consign the Blues to a second consecutive season without European football, which could have potentially disastrous consequences.