EFL Cup Semi Final: Chelsea Reflects On 1-0 Defeat To Middlesbrough

Thiago Silva confronted irate away supporters during Chelsea’s humiliating defeat to Middlesbrough, as Mauricio Pochettino has detailed.

The Blues put up yet another awful display on Tuesday night, leaving the away fans at Riverside Stadium with nothing to rejoice about. Chelsea’s attackers once again produced a lacklustre performance for the visiting supporters, with Hayden Hackney’s first-half effort serving as the difference-maker.

At the full-time whistle, Silva, a veteran of the Blues, approached the supporters and apologized for what had initially appeared to be a passionate altercation.

Pochetino said, “The Blues manager acknowledged the supporters’ frustrations but said he didn’t observe the encounter. Regarding that, I have nothing to say. There are still ninety minutes to go. We can understand why our supporters would be upset about that.”

Silva, who has virtually everything to his name at the club level, has expressed his public annoyance at Chelsea’s inadequacies this season on previous occasions.

Although it seems unlikely that moods will be high anywhere in Chelsea camp right now, Silva appeared disappointed and forcefully shoved TV cameras away from his face when the Blues almost let a three-goal lead slip away in the closing minutes of a narrow 3-2 victory against Luton at the end of December.

Middlesbrough, who ended the Blues’ 28-game winning streak at Stamford Bridge in January 2015, are the only non-top-tier team to defeat Chelsea in any domestic cup tournament. Bradford’s victory came at Stamford Bridge.

If Pochettino wasn’t under pressure before, he is under it now. The Blues barely managed three points at Kenilworth Road the previous week, and a 4-0 scoreline against Preston on the weekend flattered them.

All eyes will be on Chelsea’s match against Fulham in the Premier League at home this Saturday, followed by the Carabao Cup return match two weeks later.