Chelsea faced a hard-fought battle in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, a shocking 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough. The Championship side's 38th-minute goal of the game through Hayden Harkney's strike left Jose Mourinho's underperforming Chelsea side with plenty of work to do in the second leg at Stamford Bridge. The defeat put more pressure on Pochettino, whose side currently sit tenth in the Premier League.
Middlesbrough lost top scorer Emmanuel Rath Russ early in the game, but they were still on par with an expensive Chelsea side. The home side broke the deadlock with a plethora of Chelsea players when Isaiah Jones' low cross was deflected into the back of the net by Harkney. Chelsea had chances to equalise just before half-time, but Cole Palmer missed the mark twice.
In the second half, Chelsea put pressure on an equaliser, but their attacking threat was once again evident. Despite spending more than £1 billion on players over the past few transfer windows, Pochettino says further reinforcement is needed to address the team's attacking problems. Chelsea's dominance of possession in the late stages did not lead to clear chances and Middlesbrough held on to secure the victory. The result puts Middlesbrough one step away from a potential Wembley final, which could be against either Liverpool or Fulham. As for Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea side, they continue to face pressure to turn things around this season.