Mauricio Pochettino makes Chelsea vs Middlesbrough admission as Todd Boehly target threatened

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea's Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg match with Middlesbrough on Tuesday night is the biggest game of his Blues career so far. Pochettino's side are 1-0 down after losing in the first-leg at the Riverside Stadium but have the chance to put that right at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are potentially 90 minutes from a trip to Wembley next month but need to overcome a stubborn Middlesbrough side first of all. Michael Carrick set up his team very well a fortnight ago as they held onto a one-goal lead in the north east.

Pochettino did not seem too downhearted after the defeat, despite plenty of Chelsea supporters being very frustrated with what they witnessed. Instead, the Chelsea head coach kept reiterating it was only 'half-time' in the tie. Now is his chance to put things right.

When asked if the match with Boro is the biggest of his tenure at Stamford Bridge thus far, Pochettino responded: «Yes, because it is access to the final. We need to be convincing if we are going to win. It is the opportunity to play in a final so it is the most important so far.»

Pochettino is relishing the pressure, too, when asked about how his young squad will cope with a decisive leg in a semi-final – unchartered territory for a lot of them. He said: «It is good pressure. I like this kind of challenge.

»We want to be in that situation and play in a semi-final but for Middlesbrough it is going to be tough also. They need to defend their 1-0 lead. We suffered some criticism which was good and now it is the chance to be free and play and go and show the road to the final."

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