Those lost 30 minutes will haunt Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea’s inexplicable lethargy during extra time against Liverpool will stain their head coach’s reputation. For Pochettino, who is yet to win a trophy in English football, the accusation that he bottles the big occasions will be hard to shake off after the manner of his side’s 1-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup final.
Reputations are made in those moments. Unfortunately for Pochettino, it is hard to find anyone willing to place much store in Paris Saint-Germain’s financial might helping him to three trophies in France. Before facing Liverpool there was more focus on the semi-finals and finals that got away from the Argentinian during his Tottenham days. Unfairly or not, the only way to answer the question of whether Pochettino was ruthless enough was with a statement win. He had to show Chelsea fans he was capable of beating Jürgen Klopp.
