Blues winger highlights tactical change from Mauricio Pochettino as key in Aston Villa comeback | OneFootball

Noni Madueke stated he was proud of the way Chelsea fought back to earn a point against Aston Villa on Saturday night, highlighting Mauricio Pochettino’s tactical changes at half time as key.

The Blues started the game poorly and found themselves a goal down inside the first four minutes as John McGinn’s shot deflected off Marc Cucurella and into the back of the net, before Morgan Rogers doubled the lead just before the break.

Pochettino’s men came out a different team in the second half and dominated the game, with Madueke pulling a goal back before Conor Gallagher curled in a brilliant equaliser.

Chelsea could have won it right at the death but Axel Disasi’s header was ruled out by VAR for a foul by Benoit Badiashile in the build up.

Madueke was disappointed not to leave Villa Park with the three points, but was pleased with how the team fought back following the 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.

“We beat them here earlier in the season so we wanted to come here and win, that was our goal. It wasn’t to be but nevertheless I’m still proud of the boys, it was a good performance”, the 22-year-old told the club’s official website.

“We do need to play better at times in phases of the game. However, we have an abundance of quality and when we fight we’re a match for any team on our day.

“Of course, the last result was terrible at the Emirates, but I think for maybe 70 minutes of the game yesterday the team were outstanding. So we just need to brush up on certain details, but it’s a process and I’m proud of what the boys did on Saturday.”

The winger also credited Pochettino’s tactical changes at the break for making a big difference to the second half performance.

“We were playing well in possession but weren’t really threatening the goal as such, so the gaffer tweaked it and Marc [Cucurella] went inside and we kind of had four in the middle, so that we could commit more players forward.

“I feel like a lot of the times in the second half we were attacking with five on the last line, as opposed to the first half when it was just me, Nico [Jackson] and Misha [Mudryk] or Cucu on the left.

“So credit to the gaffer for the tweak, it made it easier to play through and we implemented it well, so credit to ourselves as well.’