Pochettino hopes Aston Villa win can signal new start for Chelsea

Pochettino's men gave arguably their best performance this season to beat Villa 3-1 in the fourth-round replay on Wednesday. It was a shot in the arm for a side who were booed off by fans after last week's 4-2 home loss to Wolves, which left them 11th in the Premier League table. Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion ($1.25 billion) on transfers since Todd Boehly's takeover in May 2022 but have little to show for their vast outlay.

Last season, the Blues ended up 12th in the Premier League - their lowest finish since 1994 - and they have mustered just nine league wins in Pochettino's first campaign in charge. But Pochettino, whose side travel to struggling Crystal Palace on Monday, is hopeful the tide is turning thanks to their victory over Villa.

"Before (Villa) we had some good performances, but we are not consistent enough," he said on Friday. "Maybe it could be the starting point for us, starting to be consistent and to show more often this type of performance. "Always we believe (we can find) momentum and be consistent. Many things from the players and from the team (show we can be consistent).

"I hope it's going to be a very good thing for us. I think the players deserve, they're working hard from the start of the season. This type of game showed our capacity and our talent. "We need to put it all together, behave the way that we behave, approach the game in the way that we approach. There are many good things we need to keep for the future."