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• Pochettino hails Chelsea's growth after thumping West Ham

  Mauricio Pochettino is delighted by Chelsea's progress in recent weeks following their dominant 5-0 victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

  Nicolas Jackson scored twice, while Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were also on target as the Blues leapfrogged Manchester United into seventh place with three games remaining.

  Pochettino's side, who made it back-to-back wins in the space of three days following their 2-0 success over Tottenham on Thursday, are finishing the season strongly, having now lost just one of their last 12 matches.

  The Blues came under scrutiny during their 6-0 rout of Everton last month, when Jackson and Madueke were involved in an altercation following a disagreement over who should take a penalty, with the responsibility eventually going to regular taker Palmer.

  However, three weeks on, the pair combined to positive effect with Madueke unselfishly squaring the ball for Jackson to tap in the first of his two goals, despite being one-on-one with West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola.

  And Pochettino believes that action epitomises the growth his side are demonstrating as the season draws towards a conclusion.

  "[We are] so pleased, so happy. The players deserve big credit, to play again after a few days and to play again at this level," he said, as reported by Football London.

  "We received criticism for the situation with the penalty against Everton, but a young team needs to make mistakes to improve.

  "It was a great action from Noni [squaring the ball for Jackson's first goal] to see how the group is starting to believe. It is always a process that takes time. It can take one month, six months or one year.
   
  "People who know about football know the process of building a team is the most difficult thing. You need to have the capacity to emphasise with every single player.

  "They need to trust in us, in the coaching staff. That is the most important thing, and then you need to start to identify what the players need. This process always takes time."

  Discussing Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for Europe, Pochettino said: "From the beginning of the season, I said we should win because we are Chelsea.

  "We need to be mature, keep the momentum and look to improve every single game. We are trying to be in Europe; it will be good for the team and the players to be in Europe this season."

• Zenden: Off-the-field uncertainty at Man Utd unhelpful for Ten Hag

  Boudewijn Zenden believes ongoings off the pitch at Old Trafford have not made Erik ten Hag's time at Manchester United any easier.

  Ten Hag's first season at Old Trafford was promising, finishing in the top four and ending the club's trophy drought as the Red Devils lifted the EFL Cup.

  However, Ten Hag's second season in Manchester has not reached the same standards, and though the club will face rivals Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final later this month, United currently sit eighth in the Premier League, 14 points off the Champions League places.

  Ten Hag's tenure at Old Trafford has included a number of off-the-field incidents, with a fallout between himself and Jadon Sancho leading to the winger going out on loan to Borussia Dortmund, while Jim Ratcliffe also became co-owner of the club earlier this year.

  Zenden feels that events off the pitch have not made Ten Hag's job easy, as well as the lofty expectations that managing a club the size of United comes with.

  "I have a feeling a bit that at United, there's more going on than just the results, and that doesn't make it easy for Ten Hag," Zenden told Stats Perform. "As I said, you have the press, the pundits that all have their view on United.

  "That also comes probably with the frustration of the fact that United are one of the biggest clubs in the world that also had their time in Europe where they were very strong.

  "For that matter, they were a little bit off the pace, and that upsets people of course. You have to be able to guide the club, the team, the players, the crowd, everybody through that particular period and seize out the storm."

  With United stumbling in the Premier League, Ten Hag has come into increasing conflict with reporters of late.

  Ten Hag's countryman Arne Slot is reportedly in the frame for the Liverpool job with current incumbent Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season.

  Zenden believes Slot's composure with the media will serve him well should he join Liverpool, an area where he feels Ten Hag has sometimes been lacking.

  "I think what could be in Slot's favour is that I think he's relatively calm in his press conferences," Zenden continued. "I don't think he will get tempted quickly to start an argument with the press.

  "I'm sure the press will be happy to try and lure him out to get a few controversial phrases out, but the way I look at it now, I think he's a little bit more composed.

  "This is something that maybe Ten Hag didn't help himself with also a few times this year. There's been a lot of upset. The results have not been what probably everybody would have expected."

• Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa: Villans' top-four hopes stutter after late Pedro header

  Aston Villa missed the chance to close in on a Champions League place after they were beaten 1-0 at Brighton.

  Joao Pedro’s late header settled Sunday's contest at the Amex Stadium, the striker nodding in three minutes from time after Robin Olsen saved his initial penalty.

  With fifth-placed Tottenham travelling to Liverpool later on Sunday, Villa could have taken a huge step towards sealing a place in Europe's top club competition with victory.

  However, Unai Emery’s side remain fourth and seven points above Spurs, who have two games in hand, while Brighton climb to 11th.

  The Seagulls carried the greater threat during a first half of few opportunities, with Simon Adingra stinging Olsen’s palms from distance.

  Villa, who lost Morgan Rogers to injury midway through the half, also had Olsen to thank twice in first-half stoppage time. First, he kept out Adingra’s tame volley from a Pedro cross before also thwarting Pascal Gross from close range.

  The hosts continued to look the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval. Olsen denied Pedro, while Julio Enciso fired narrowly over from distance.

  Brighton thought they had taken the lead inside the final quarter when Gross turned in Igor’s cross from inside the six-yard box, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review adjudged Gross to be offside.

  The visitors also had the ball in the net at the other end, though the offside flag denied John McGinn, who tucked away after the ball ricocheted kindly for him in the six-yard box.

  However, it was Brighton who got the breakthrough in the 87th minute. Olsen guessed correctly to keep out Pedro’s penalty after Ezri Konsa tripped Adingra, but the Sweden international was helpless as the striker headed home the rebound to give Brighton victory.

  Pedro hits the 20 mark

  Brighton arrived in this contest off the back of successive defeats, and looking to avoid three on the spin for the first time since March 2022.

  The Seagulls had also lost each of their previous five Premier League meetings with Villa, who could have secured their Champions League qualification with a win and a Spurs loss at Liverpool.

  Gross almost broke the deadlock on his 200th Premier League start for Brighton – his strike ruled out following a VAR review – becoming only the second player to reach that figure after Lewis Dunk.

  However, Pedro turned out to be the match winner as he became the first player to score 20 goals in all competitions in a single season for the Seagulls since Glenn Murray in 2016/17 (23).

  Toothless Villa stumble

  Villa – who were stunned by Olympiacos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday – were unable to capitalise on their opportunity to potentially secure their top-four place following an uncharacteristically quiet outing in front of goal.

  Ollie Watkins had scored six goals in his last four appearances against Brighton – his highest tally against a single opponent – and had been directly involved in eight goals in his last five Premier League away games (scoring six and assisting two).

  However, the England striker was unable to build on that momentum in a game where Villa registered just two shots on goal.

  That was their lowest tally in a Premier League match since May 2016 against Newcastle United (also two), while they only registered fewer on record against Manchester United in August 2005 (one).

  They should still have enough to secure a top-four place, but Emery’s team need to get over their hump.