I think Mauricio Pochettino cost Chelsea a win at Man City with one surprise decision

Gary Lineker has questioned why Mauricio Pochettino substituted Cole Palmer during Chelsea's clash with Manchester City. The 21-year-old midfielder, who returned to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since joining the Blues in the summer, was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah halfway into the second half.

The Cobham graduate slotted between Malo Gusto and Axel Disasi, forming a back-five, as Chelsea looked to hold onto their one goal advantage. Unfortunately for the the former Tottenham Hotspur boss, his plan didn't quite work with Rodri netting an equaliser no more than a quarter of an hour later.

By bringing Palmer off and changing formation, the west Londoners invited lots of unwanted pressure in the dying embers of the tie. Speaking 'The Rest is Football' podcast alongside Linker and Micah Richards identified the substitution as a key turning point in the fixture.

The former City defender said: «It was weird as around the 70th minute they went to a five at the back and it sort of played into City’s hands and that’s where the Rodri goal came from.»

Lineker added: «I agree with that. I think Pochettino is getting something there, Chelsea are a very young side and they can grow, but I was very, very surprised when he took Cole Palmer off because they were at a stage where they were struggling to get out.

»He was the one player who could keep the ball at that particular point and keep them in the game and he took him off and put a defender on and they were even deeper."

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Speaking to reporters after the game, Pochettino commented on his side's performance.