FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE — Tuesday night had real potential to end disastrously for Chelsea and head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
They went into the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Middlesbrough needing to overturn a one-goal deficit after being humiliated by the mid-table Championship side a fortnight ago. With the Blues ninth in the Premier League, knives would have been out for Pochettino — who is already still a little unpopular among fans for his Tottenham connections — if they had been dumped out.
For nearly two decades, Chelsea were about winning no matter what the cost on and off the pitch. The BlueCo regime that replaced Roman Abramovich have done well not to completely eradicate that philosophy in their short time in west London.
Chelsea have a lot of work to do to prove to their fans they still see winning as the top priority, particularly following the replacement of Thomas Tuchel with first Brighton's Graham Potter and then Pochettino, neither of whom are known for their glittering trophy collection.
Beyond winning, Chelsea also stood for defensive resilience, an impenetrable and inevitable identity. Potter failed to ever establish one of his own, while Pochettino's charges have only shown brief glimpses of their potential.
With a comprehensive 6-1 victory in the second leg, Chelsea booked their spot in the Carabao Cup final in style and extended their unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge to nine matches — they won only seven once Tuchel was dismissed last season and would have struggled to see through such a fixture in this manner 12 months ago.
The only criticism of Pochettino's spell across London at Spurs was the lack of silverware during his tenure. He was consistently dug out for supposedly showing a
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