It is a well-established part of the Mauricio Pochettino managerial story: young academy centre-forward scores deflected goal in must-win game to offer ignition point.
Pochettino cannot forget how everything changed for him at Tottenham after a difficult first few months in 2014 when Harry Kane, on as a substitute at Aston Villa, watched a stoppage-time free-kick go in off the defensive wall for a 2-1 victory.
Spurs had begun the day in 12th place and, as they trailed 1-0, Pochettino genuinely thought it might be his last match. Instead, Kane would become his first-choice striker and it is fair to say that neither of them looked back thereafter.
Pochettino hopes to have found a similar touchstone at Chelsea. For Kane, read Armando Broja at Fulham on Monday night, a game in which Chelsea had kicked off in 15th place. It was Broja who scored the clinching goal in a 2-0 win when the Fulham defender Tim Ream diverted the ball against his right foot and in past the goalkeeper, Bernd Leno.
Nobody wants to make the comparison between Broja and Kane; it is fatuous and unfair. But in terms of the moments – and what a moment it was for Broja, a goal on his first start since an ACL rupture last December – it was easy to do so, to invest plenty of emotion. Which, Pochettino being Pochettino, he did. The Argentinian’s faith in universal energy, a kind of spiritual force that influences everything, is well documented.
“Maybe it is the coincidence again,” Pochettino said. “Why not? Things happen for something. The best players, the best coaches … always you need at some point these things that change the present and build a better future. I hope it was a signal, a thing that can be the start of something good, to build success at Chelsea – for Armando and for us.”
It has been interesting to note the change in Pochettino’s tone from his Chelsea unveiling on 7 July to recent weeks. Back then, he spoke of winning and doing so quickly, partly because he knows what tends to happen to managers at Stamford Bridge who do not.
“It is difficult to wait and when you are in Chelsea, I believe it is not about asking for time – you need to deliver from day one,” Pochettino said. “We have players that can deliver in the short-term.”
Pochettino has since come to talk about the need for time, how his young players must grow; he made the point repeatedly in relation to Broja. But he warmed very quickly to another concept – that of building momentum at Turf Moor, harnessing the power of the Broja goal and the overall team performance against Fulham. Chelsea have not won back-to-back Premier League matches since early March.
“Of course we want momentum,” Pochettino said. “To go into the international break with a different feeling to the last one [in September], it is really important to win against Burnley but we need to stay calm.”
Pochettino still has selection problems. Roméo Lavia is not running after his ankle injury and will not be available immediately after the international break while Reece James is back to fitness but is banned for his tunnel rant at an official after last month’s home defeat against Villa.
What makes Pochettino feel better is how Moisés Caicedo has started to settle, the boost that Mykhailo Mudryk enjoyed after he opened the scoring at Fulham with his first Chelsea goal and the team’s burgeoning defensive stability. They had kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over Brighton before Fulham and it is only seven goals conceded in nine games in all competitions under Pochettino.
“You need to build the house from the foundations,” Pochettino said. “The defensive area is doing very well and the whole team, when we don’t have the ball, is doing a fantastic job.”
For the first time, Pochettino has a choice up front because Nicolas Jackson is available after a one-match ban. Will Broja retain his place? Before Fulham, he had made only two brief substitute appearances since his return from injury. Pochettino must manage his load and yet Broja is on a high after his goal.
“Armando has amazing potential,” Pochettino said. “Now it’s about how he recovers from the injury and the long period he was out. He’s very talented, we trust him, that’s why he played against Fulham and maybe tomorrow.
“He needs time to feel complete – if not his body, also in his mind, because it sometimes affects your mind. In three months, he has improved in all the aspects. It’s only up to him to show he can cope with the pressure to play here.”
