Mauricio Pochettino said his Chelsea players need to grow up as a team after they were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge by Aston Villa to fall to their third loss of the season.

The game turned with the sending off of Chelsea’s Malo Gusto after 58 minutes when the score was still 0-0. His challenge on Lucas Digne was late and caught the Villa defender on the ankle, and after a pitchside VAR review referee Jarred Gillett upgraded the initial yellow card to a red for dangerous play.

Pochettino brought on Ben Chilwell and moved Axel Disasi to right-back, but the dismissal did not much alter Chelsea’s attacking intent as they continued to seek out a winner.

It was a decision that would come to haunt them, as with the home side committed inside Villa’s half Moussa Diaby broke with the ball and fed Ollie Watkins, who after seeing his first shot blocked by Levi Colwill scored with his second, angling the ball beyond Robert Sanchez and in off the far post.

It was the second time in two seasons that Watkins has netted in a Villa victory at Stamford Bridge, as Unai Emery’s side took full advantage of Chelsea’s ongoing inability to turn promising situations in the final third into goals, before pouncing when their own moment came.

Striker Nicolas Jackson, who has scored just once since his £31million summer move from Villarreal, again cut a frustrated figure as he picked up his fifth booking of the season for attempting to block a Villa free-kick, incurring him a one-game ban.

Pochettino refused to criticise the officials and said it is the players that must take the rap for the team’s poor start to the season.

“It’s our responsibility and the players’ responsibility,” said Pochettino. “We can’t blame the VAR or the referee. The situation, we need to act different, in a different way. I’m not going to blame or say anything against Malo Gusto. Situations happen in football and they affect the game and the team in a negative way.

“We need to grow up like a team, not only in an individual way. A player like Nico (Jackson) that is so young, feeling the Premier League and he’s learning, he needs time. In this type of game, we’re competing and we want to win. But players, when they are young, need to learn with experience.

“That’s why we feel disappointed because we are playing too many situations like this. Another small detail and in the end we are losing the game. We are in a situation we need to change as soon as possible.”

Chelsea largely dominated up until the red card with Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk particularly lively attacking down either flank.

But the team were dogged by a familiar failure to turn pressure and possession into gilt-edged chances as their scoreless run in the league extended to three games.

“It was a little bit unlucky,” said Pochettino. “How many chances did we have like Aston Villa? They shoot, we block, then they shoot and it touches the post and goes in. For us, how many one v one against (Emiliano) Martinez? We were a little bit unlucky but that happens.

“We need to accept the reality. But it was unlucky because how many chances did they create? Not many. With 10 men we were forcing them to go back.

“That is unlucky. We need to be aware about what is going on but in some way we need to be calm because the team is creating, the team is alive, the team is fighting every single action.

“We cannot say anything about the players, we cannot say that they gave up after 70 minutes. They were fighting until the end with one player less.”

Villa boss Emery reflected on a performance that he said was proof of his side’s powers of recovery after their 3-2 loss to Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

“Overall I think we are progressing,” he said. “We changed some players, we had some difficult injuries. The most important thing, we tried to create our style and ideas as quick as possible with the players we added this season.

“The first way to get it I think is to be consistency defensively, be competitive like we were today.

“We’ve been strong at home, playing really good and winning a lot of matches. But away we have to try to get the same performances and the same structure.

“Today, to win here at Chelsea, 90 minutes everything that happened today was something normal. To win here is not easy. If the match had gone different we could have lost as well. I’m very happy. We felt strong defensively, better than the last match we played away.”

Chelsea went down to a third Premier League defeat of the season as Aston Villa won 1-0 at Stamford Bridge after Malo Gusto was shown a second-half red card.

Villa broke away and scored through Ollie Watkins 17 minutes from the end, and though the 10 men laboured gainfully to get back into the game their goalless run in the league under Mauricio Pochettino stretched to three matches as they remained 14th.

Chelsea were on top and looking far the likelier to score when a pitchside VAR decision just before the hour mark turned proceedings against them. Gusto had slid in on Lucas Digne and caught the defender on the ankle, and a yellow card was quickly upgraded to red for dangerous play.

Pochettino’s side continued to attack in numbers and it would prove their undoing, Watkins outfoxing Levi Colwill to score on the rebound after the 10 men had poured forward, as Villa won for the second season running in front of an audibly frustrated home support in west London.

Chelsea opened with a greater attacking purpose than they had shown in recent scoreless outings against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. After four minutes, Moises Caicedo took a chance and drilled low and hard from distance into the gloves of Emiliano Martinez, a comfortable enough save for Villa’s goalkeeper but an early show of intent from the home side.

Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk were heavily involved during the opening 15 minutes, finding space without the ball and attacking Villa down either flank when in possession. Nicolas Jackson too showed pace and power through the middle as Chelsea threatened from all angles.

But it was Villa, increasingly stretched at the back, who nearly took the lead and in the most spectacular fashion after 20 minutes. Douglas Luiz’s corner was only partially cleared, and the ball dropped out of the air to the waiting Digne who whacked an audacious looping volley from all of 35 yards that Robert Sanchez brilliantly tipped over the bar.

Chelsea had not scored in the league since August but here they played through Villa with a confidence that belied their modest goal return of five under Pochettino.

Mudryk tucked a superb ball in behind the defence for Jackson to run on to, the striker’s cunning to find space matching the brilliance of his teammate’s vision. Jackson went for the near post and Martinez turned it behind, but it was as fine an attacking move as Stamford Bridge had witnessed this season.

Enzo Fernandez should have broken the deadlock when he shot first time from Gusto’s pull-back, the Argentinian failing to make the best of a good opening after Gusto had stretched every sinew keeping the ball in play.

Sanchez saved acrobatically from Nicolo Zaniolo’s volley as Villa came on strong late in the half. At the other end Mudryk capped a lively first period when he raced away from Matty Cash and zipped the ball low across goal only to find that nobody in blue had gambled.

Sterling began the second period as he had ended the first, racing away from Villa down the right and trying to tuck the ball inside Martinez’s near post. The goalkeeper spread himself well to smother, but Chelsea’s threat was growing.

Then came a moment to turn to the tide of that pressure. Gusto’s challenge on Digne was late and caught the Villa defender on the ankle. The initial decision was yellow card, but a pitchside VAR review saw it upgraded to a red as boos rained down on the referee from home fans.

The sending off did not drastically alter the course of things at first, Chelsea’s pressure on Villa’s defence remained. Yet it was ultimately to be their undoing.

There seemed to be little on when Villa won the ball back high in the Chelsea half. One ball released Moussa Diaby who dashed into the space left by Gusto’s departure, and in a flash he fed Watkins.

Colwill seemed to have things under control when he slid to block Watkins’ initial shot, but before he could recover and clear the Villa striker had taken up the ball and lashed his second effort past Sanchez from an angle and in off the far post.

Ben Chilwell on as a substitute missed when one-on-one with Martinez, then moments later Axel Disasi, now moved out to right-back, burst into the box and skewed horribly wide as he lashed at his shot.

Jacob Ramsey tested Sanchez when he stepped inside and curled towards the bottom corner, this time the goalkeeper finger-tipped the ball to safety.

By then, Chelsea’s attacking rhythm had been critically disrupted, and Villa saw the win out amid a chorus of discontent around Stamford Bridge.

Mauricio Pochettino thinks the 18 months he spent in charge of Paris St Germain kitted him out to tackle the complicated task of turning Chelsea’s fortunes around.

Under the Argentinian, PSG were crowned Ligue 1 champions in 2022 having missed out to Lille the previous campaign after he had replaced the sacked Thomas Tuchel mid-season.

Crucially he failed to land the club’s Qatari owners the prize they most coveted, the Champions League, losing in the semi-final to Manchester City in 2021 and to Real Madrid in the last-16 the following year.

It was reported that Pochettino never felt that he enjoyed full authority over the club’s star-studded squad, and was kept by the hierarchy from reining in the erratic behaviour of certain big-name players.

He left in the summer of 2022 and did not work in football again until accepting the job of piecing together Chelsea owner Todd Boehly’s expensively assembled side in June.

He said the experience of managing in the famously chaotic environment of the French champions helped him as a coach, but acknowledged that the challenge he faces at Stamford Bridge is of a different order.

“I think it helps,” said Pochettino. “It helps to take things in a different way. Of course, experience is a really important point in football, in how you are going to deal with things.

“It would be arrogant to say that because I was there, now I can manage everything. The demands always are completely different.

“But when you add experience and experience of different clubs, different countries, different cultures, I think it gives us the capacity as a coaching staff to help in a better way the players and then the club that wants to develop some new ideas or new projects, like we are now doing.”

Chelsea face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when Pochettino will come up against another coach who knows intimately the unique demands of life at PSG, Unai Emery.

Emery managed the club for two seasons between 2016-18, winning the title in his second year but joining the list of coaches unable to fulfil the club’s frustrated Champions League ambitions, twice going out in the last 16.

He returned Villa to Europe for the first time in 12 years last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League after taking over from Steven Gerrard in October.

“For myself and for Unai, (the job) is not to prove anything,” said Pochettino. “I think it is to try to help (our) clubs to achieve what the clubs want. I never feel that I need to prove something.

“We (Pochettino and assistant Jesus Perez) arrived at PSG and in one year and a half we won three (trophies). We proved that we can win.

“But you can win with a team that normally wins when you are in a project ready to win. In that case, Unai and myself are building something. He is building at Aston Villa a very nice project, and we are starting to build a very good project for the long-term at Chelsea.

“I think it’s not easy to win with PSG, it’s not easy to win with different clubs. We need to give the credit for the coaches and players that win with different teams, because for different reasons, you feel the pressure in a club like PSG. You cannot (have) any excuses.

“But the Premier League is the most important competition and the most competitive, and if you can win here, I think the feeling for sure that the credit is bigger.”

Mauricio Pochettino has defended Chelsea’s medical department amid the spate of injuries that left him with only 15 available first-team players for last weekend’s draw with Bournemouth.

The manager was without 12 of his senior squad for the drab goalless encounter at the Vitality Stadium with Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke late additions to an already lengthy list of absentees.

It is the second time in 2023 that the club has been hit by an injury crisis after former manager Graham Potter was left without 10 first-team players in January.

Pochettino included three players aged 19 or under who had no first-team experience on his bench last weekend, as well as two goalkeepers, as the late withdrawal of Cucurella – who had a fever – the night before the game stretched Chelsea’s billion-pound squad to breaking point.

Both the defender and Madueke will be available for Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge, with Armando Broja also in line to return for his first appearance since damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in December, pending a late assessment.

But the squad remains a pale impression of what co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have spent such sums to assemble over the past three transfer windows.

The list of players unavailable includes summer signing Christopher Nkunku who was injured playing against Borussia Dortmund during the pre-season tour of the United States and is unlikely to make his competitive debut before December.

Club captain Reece James, new signing Romeo Lavia and defender Wesley Fofana are also missing, as is Carney Chukwuemeka who scored his first goal for the club against West Ham in August before being forced off with a knee problem.

Trevoh Chalobah is also out though Benoit Badiashile has returned to training with the team. Caicedo is due to be assessed on Saturday.

“Before we arrived here we did everything to try and have a clear idea of why there were too many injuries last season also, to analyse the risk,” said Pochettino.

“It’s (about) the profile of the player, the risk of the player. It’s not the people working in the medical staff of performance area.

“I think we need to respect these areas (at the club) are very good professionals, qualified people. That’s why they are working in football. But there’s an individual risk to (certain) players, you need to assess.

“Then there’s bad luck. We have injures that maybe happen in one season or maybe in two, but have happened (to Chelsea) because of different situations you cannot control.

“Christopher against Dortmund, it was a tackle and he twists his knee. Three or four months out. That is from the beginning of the game, he wasn’t tired, he was fresh, good, strong.

“The organisation in football are super professional and we need to respect that. Sometimes things happen like this and it’s difficult to evaluate.”

Pochettino said that he favours Conor Gallagher as captain over Enzo Fernandez in the absence of James, with Ben Chilwell having started the Bournemouth game on the bench.

The manager is concerned about the Argentina international’s communication as he is still learning to speak the language after moving from Benfica in January.

Gallagher skippered the team at the Vitality Stadium as he did against AFC Wimbledon in the EFL Cup earlier in September.

“Enzo is still struggling with his English,” said Pochettino. “If we need to communicate with the referee, Conor can perfectly do the job. For me I prefer Conor to Enzo because he can speak English.

“It’s not only about character or personality or profile. You need to communicate with people. And if you have not managed the language properly, you cannot be captain. Maybe I am wrong but it is my opinion.”

Mauricio Pochettino has spoken with Nicolas Jackson to try to address the striker’s discipline on the pitch after he was booked for dissent for the fourth time in five games against Bournemouth last weekend.

The summer signing from Villarreal has cut an increasingly frustrated figure during Chelsea’s early-season struggles, scoring just once in last month’s 3-0 win over Luton.

Chelsea are 14th in the Premier League after Pochettino’s first five games in charge and have not found the net in their last two outings.

Jackson, who was signed for £31million in part as a response to the team’s woeful goal return of 38 last season in the league, has shown flashes of promise.

But he was a peripheral figure for much of Chelsea’s dour stalemate at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, when the home side coped comfortably with what little threat Pochettino’s side posed.

The manager reiterated his call for Jackson and the rest of the club’s young new recruits to be afforded time, and pointed to the example of Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior – one of the most effective forwards in Europe last season.

After joining the La Liga giants in 2018 from Brazilian side Flamengo he scored just seven league goals in his first two and half seasons, but has since taken his total for the club to 60.

“I had a meeting today (Friday) with Nicolas and Enzo (Fernandez),” said Pochettino. “I said ‘come on, a striker with four yellows cards for protesting?’ You need to get yellow cards but in different actions, not for that. Not so easy, so cheap. It’s going to put him in a very difficult situation with the team.

“He understood. But Jackson is 21, he’s young. He needs to learn, needs to improve, needs to settle. He’s going to be a fantastic player. But he needs time.

“I like to make similarities with players at other clubs. Jackson is a fantastic player but he needs to be calm and relaxed in front of goal. I said remember Vinicius, he took three seasons, or two and a half seasons, to perform (at Real).

“We’re talking about young players. You can blame us, blame me. We can talk about tactics. But they need time. It’s no doubt we have amazing talent on the team, but now they need time to settle.

“But he needs to be clever not to protest to the referees in this way.

“Maybe it’s his normal behaviour on the pitch, it’s something maybe he can improve. Maybe this season they change the rules, he came from Spain where it’s different the relationship with the referees.”

Pochettino said there was a good chance Armando Broja would be available for Sunday’s meeting with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge after he recovered from the ACL injury that has kept him out since December.

“Broja will maybe be involved at the weekend,” he said. “But it’s after nine months that he’s not competing.

“We cannot expect Broja to arrive to score every single touch, he needs time to feel the competition and start to perform in the way we expect he can.”

The manager added that despite the team’s run of one win in five league games this season he has been pleased with the emotional reaction shown by his players to the team’s indifferent start.

“I’m so happy the way they felt after Bournemouth and (the 1-0 defeat to) Nottingham Forest. They really care about performing better.

“This week was good to work really hard and create a good atmosphere to try to translate to the competition.”

Mauricio Pochettino admitted he empathised with Thiago Silva’s frustration after the defender appeared to lose his temper with Chelsea teammates during their goalless draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.

At one stage, whilst in possession of the ball during the first half at the Vitality Stadium, the defender was visibly angered by the team’s set-up, with little movement in front of him and huge gaps between forward players and the defence.

Silva, who turns 39 on Friday, is one of the club’s most experienced and successful players having won seven Ligue 1 titles with Paris St Germain, the Serie A title with AC Milan and the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

He has also collected 113 caps for Brazil during a 15-year international career.

By contrast three of his teammates who started the draw with Bournemouth – Lesley Ugochukwu, Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto – were not born when Silva made his professional debut for Brazilian third-tier side RS Futebol in 2002.

With an average age of just over 23 Chelsea have the youngest squad in this season’s Premier League, and an injury crisis that has left Pochettino without 12 first-team players has increased his dependency on youth.

“We need to be more relaxed,” said Blues boss Pochettino. “Sometimes the defensive players want to help the team to score because the feeling is that we are creating chances but can’t score.

“Then we need to be clever. Thiago has experience, but too many players (in the team) are still learning about the game. That is the construction and the building of a new team. There are many rules in football that you can’t write.

“In these type of games when you are pushing, pushing, trying to score and if you don’t score, it’s normal (to be frustrated), you know.”

Pochettino also clarified the absences of Marc Cucurella, Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo, none of whom were in Sunday’s squad.

Instead the manager was forced to name three players who were 19 and under with no first-team experience on the bench, as well as two goalkeepers.

“Cucurella had a fever (on Saturday) and was at home and didn’t train,” said Pochettino. “Noni came from the national team with a muscle problem. Caicedo came with a knock in his knee.

“We need to assess (on Monday). That’s why they weren’t available, plus another 10 or 11 players.”

Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.

Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.

Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.

Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.

Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.

It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.

And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.

“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.

“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.

“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”

The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.

“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.

“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”

Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.

Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.

“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.

“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.

“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”

Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.

Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.

Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.

Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.

Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.

It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.

And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.

“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.

“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.

“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”

The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.

“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.

“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”

Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.

Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.

“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.

“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.

“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”

Chelsea’s indifferent start to the Premier League season continued as they were held to a drab goalless draw by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were again short on creative threat as the hosts dealt comfortably with what their opponents could muster in attack, only once looking genuinely troubled when Raheem Sterling’s second-half free-kick cracked the underside of the crossbar.

For Chelsea it was a familiar case of failing to find the critical pass, as possession and overall control of the match counted for little.

It leaves the team assembled for more than £1billion by co-owner Todd Boehly languishing in 14th place with just one win in their first five league games.

Andoni Iraola saw the winless streak with which his Bournemouth tenure has started stretch to five matches but also witnessed moments of genuine attacking intent from his team, most notably when Dango Ouattara was denied brilliantly in the first half by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Sterling had the first sight of goal in the 10th minute when he darted into the box to latch onto Conor Gallagher’s chipped pass but his shot was horribly miscued and rolled away to safety.

Nicolas Jackson made better use of his first opportunity, striking the outside of the post from Mykhailo Mudryk’s through-ball, but on the whole the opening exchanges passed with little incident.

It took a superb sprawling save from Sanchez to keep out Ouattara, the goalkeeper diving at the striker’s feet after Bournemouth had caught Chelsea out with a quick free-kick.

Sterling looked in the mood to continue the rich vein of form with which he has started the season. In the 22nd minute, Malo Gusto linked up well with Gallagher down the right and sent over a low cross that Sterling was first to react to, but his shot was deflected to safety.

Neto got a strong right hand down to beat away Gallagher’s effort from 18 yards after he had been set up by Mudryk. For Chelsea, the first half had traced a familiar pattern; plenty of possession and probing balls into the channels, but little to suggest they had fathomed how to break Bournemouth down.

Sterling nearly gave them the perfect start to the second period, his free-kick from 20 yards crashing off the bar and down onto the goal line. Levi Colwill tapped home the rebound but was rightly called offside.

The Blues had conceded five goals in their first four league games, and there were again signs of defensive frailties in Dorset.

Axel Disasi failed to get height or distance on his clearance from the edge of the box, heading the ball to the feet of Ryan Christie who curled a well-struck effort into the palms of Sanchez.

Chelsea’s breakthrough looked to have arrived after 65 minutes when Sterling slid a ball in behind for Jackson, whose low cross was almost turned home by the stretching Colwill – with Neto clawing the ball to safety.

But the visitors were looking increasingly desperate in their approach. Gusto and Sterling each epitomised the dearth of creative ideas that has dashed Pochettino’s early ambitions, lashing speculative shots high and wide from distance when there were options on.

At the other end, Bournemouth were increasingly a threat. First Philip Billing saw a free-kick deflected narrowly wide, before Dominic Solanke’s low drive was well saved by Sanchez.

Cole Palmer was summoned from the bench to help find Chelsea’s rhythm, but the summer signing from Manchester City had little more success than the player he replaced, Mudryk.

Ben Chilwell also came on and made one good burst forward and crossed for Jackson, but the striker’s header was easy for Neto.

Mauricio Pochettino is saddened by some of changes he has witnessed in English football, believing a move towards a more technical way of playing costing the Premier League some of its identity.

The manager is in his sixth full season working in England since being appointed at Southampton midway through the 2012-13 season.

He stabilised relegation-threatened Saints and pulled them clear of the drop zone before helping establishing them in the top flight the following year.

At his next job, Tottenham, he transformed the club from perennial underachievers into regular Champions League qualifiers and took them to the final in 2019, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.

He is working his first Premier League job since being sacked by Spurs in November of that year, and is tasked with turning around Chelsea’s fortunes after a wretched campaign last season that saw them finish 12th.

The value and commercial appeal of England’s top flight has grown hugely since Pochettino replaced Nigel Adkins at St. Mary’s more than a decade ago, with the appeal and financial incentive on offer to foreign stars greater than ever.

It has influenced English football to move away from some of its traditional habits, typically thought to have been centred around stamina and physicality.

“It’s true that the Premier League is different from when we arrived at Southampton (in 2013),” said Pochettino, who takes his team to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday looking for only their second league win of the season.

“Improved? Yes. Every season it improves, because the potential of the Premier League to sign players from everywhere has made the teams stronger.

“But it’s true that it loses a little bit of the identity of British football, or English football. Being honest, I like (it) of course, because as coaching staff we love to play in this way.

“English football always was about to fight. But to play good football in (a) different way also is to play well, because if you want to play in a different way, you need to be clever also in how you decide a philosophy and structure of the team.”

The Premier League had only 13 foreign players – not English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish – when it was launched in 1992.

The influx of players, and just as significantly managers, from overseas has seen the league grow to resemble a more technical style previously associated with Spain, Italy and other European leagues.

Pochettino added: “Losing this type of identity I think made me a little bit sad because always in my head it was different football in England, that is true.

“People want more spectacular, more things like this. Of course, that is the evolution of society. People ask for different demands, different things, and we are adapting. Football is adapting.”

Pochettino repeated his call for Chelsea’s young squad – the youngest in the league with an average age of just over 23 – to be afforded the time they need to grow into themselves following co-owner Todd Boehly’s whirlwind £1billion recruitment drive.

He cited one famous example of a player bought for big money who took time to come good.

“It’s not fair to assess one game, two games, three games; (a player) is not performing when we play someone and say ‘they need to perform like this’.

“I always use the same example. Real Madrid paid 70, 80, 100 million for one player, Zinedine Zidane.

“After six months you can ask the fans of Real Madrid. He started to perform after seven, eight months. Zidane was 26, 27.

“When you bring in a player who is 18 or 19 or 20 or 21, be careful. They are not machines. They need to settle. We need to give time.”

Chelsea’s policy of targeting young players in the transfer market must be given time to prove its effectiveness, according to boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have led a recruitment drive that has prioritised youth over experience during the last two transfer windows.

At an average age of just over 23 the club have the youngest squad in the Premier League this season, with contracts of seven or eight years for new players common at Stamford Bridge.

They have broken the British transfer record twice in 2023 on two players who are under 23, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.

Yet the team have taken just four points from the manager’s first four league games in charge, after a summer in which recruitment spend in the previous 12 months under the current ownership surpassed the £1billion mark.

The manager was unhappy with the ease with which Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga was allowed to run through the heart of his team’s defence to score the only goal in the visitors’ 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge before the international break, and mistakes in defence and in midfield have been a theme in the season’s early weeks.

Nevertheless, Chelsea have enjoyed periods of dominance in all four fixtures, particularly in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend and in the 3-0 win over newly-promoted Luton.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic said this week that the squad lacked the kind of world-class individuals that helped the club win five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues over the past 20 years.

But Pochettino has seen enough to be reassured that his ideas are taking root amongst his young squad, and appealed for the necessary patience for an inexperienced group to find their flow.

“They were (once) young also, John Terry was young, Frank Lampard was young, (Didier) Drogba was young,” he said. “You know better maybe than me, that is a completely different pressure. This is a different Chelsea to what I saw when I was at Tottenham or Southampton. Worse or better? I’m not saying that.

“But it’s different pressure. Different circumstances. Now we cannot compare with the past. I think it’s not fair. It’s a different Chelsea. What I want to translate is the fans want to win because the normal way in the past for Chelsea is to win.

“We need to accelerate all the process, because Chelsea is about to win, and we want to win. But I understand that the process is completely different to in the past. Because we have a different approach to the game and the philosophy and the ideas, (it means) we have a young squad of course.

“(We have) very talented players that need time to perform. But for sure we have one of the best squads of young players with the project. But of course we need time. We need to be careful about how we evolve and how we develop these ideas. But it’s true, players that need to improve and improve.”

Chelsea travel to Bournemouth on Sunday looking to win away from home for just the second time since March, with their only victory on the road in that time coming on their previous visit to the Vitality Stadium at the end of last season.

Pochettino spoke positively about his side’s performances so far this campaign despite a points return that has left them 12th.

He emphasised that his young squad are carrying the club into a new era where success is planned over a longer period, investing in potential rather than ready-made stars.

“I cannot give my opinion about what (Begovic) said because I didn’t hear,” he added. “But it’s obvious that at the moment, if you’re talking about a name like John Terry or Lampard or Drogba… come on.

“Today maybe we have the potential of Lampard or Terry or Drogba, but they are young. They need to prove that they can be one of these guys.

“In the past, Chelsea was about to sign (big) players, like Drogba. Now the idea is to buy young people to have the possibility to develop and to build a team. We are in the process of building a team.”

Mauricio Pochettino has told Chelsea’s players they need to be more naughty if they are to reach the level required to move on from an indifferent start to the season.

The team have dominated for long periods in all four Premier League games so far but defensive errors and a continued lack of penetration in attack have meant they have picked up just four points and sit 12th.

Defeat at home to Nottingham Forest before the international break was a microcosm of the side’s early struggles under Pochettino, with the visitors’ Anthony Elanga allowed to run freely through the heart of Chelsea’s defence to score the game’s only goal before striker Nicolas Jackson skied a gilt-edged chance to rescue a point.

It mirrored the loss to West Ham in August in which the team controlled the first half at the London Stadium before allowing their hosts to nick a 3-1 win, thanks in part to a missed penalty from Enzo Fernandez and a spot-kick conceded by record-signing Moises Caicedo on his debut.

The manager said that whilst performances warranted a greater points return, his players need to sharpen their competitive instincts if they are to make good on his stated aim of returning the club to the Champions League.

The team face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday looking to win away from home for only the second time since March.

“The team performance was good in the first month,” said Pochettino. “We didn’t get the points that we deserved. The organisation was good, the way that want to play. Players believe in the way that we want to play.

“If you see the data, we are very good in possession, we are very good in construction and building. Only what we are missing is to score goals. That’s the most important thing in football.

“We want to be more competitive. We cannot concede this type of goal we conceded against Nottingham. We cannot be so weak, we need to be more solid. We have players with experience, players that can do better.

“At the moment I think my feeling is bad because we are playing well, we are showing to everyone we can compete, we dominate games against teams like Liverpool.

“But in the end we need to be more competitive – I say that because I don’t want to use another word. We need to be more naughty, more aggressive.

“They’re not too nice. (They need) to compete better. To increase our level is not about our quality, it’s to compete. To compete more in every single moment of the game that requires some thing to do. Because we’re still building the team, finding this balance, for sure it’s a matter of time.

“I try to describe why we didn’t get the points we deserved. At some moment of the game you need to show more this quality, this mental strength, to have this experience to manage better to deal with some circumstance in the game. Sometimes it’s not about only talent.

“When you see the Forest game after two weeks, the time we’ve spent trying to identify why we lost the game, it’s really tough. But that’s not to do with last season, we can’t blame last season. We need to blame ourselves and find solutions in ourselves. We cannot blame the past, we cannot blame the feeling of last season. Now it’s a new era, everything is new.

Pochettino confirmed that Romeo Lavia faces a spell out of the team after injuring his ankle in training, but could not say how long the summer signing from Southampton will be out.

However, an injury of this kind typically requires six weeks of recovery time, meaning the £58million Belgium international is unlikely to make his debut for the club before November.

“(We are) really disappointed because he was training really well last week,” said Pochettino. “He’s twisted his ankle and now we wait for Monday to hear from the doctor.

“We hope it’s not a big issue. It’s real shame. It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved again with the team. We don’t know (time). We need to assess him.”

Neither Armando Broja nor Benoit Badiashile will be fit to feature against Bournemouth though both are back in full training and took part in internal matches during the international break.

Reece James, who went off injured during the season opener against Liverpool in August, is not fit to return but is back working with the ball in training.

“Reece is recovering well,” said Pochettino. “I can’t say if he’s close or not, because we assess him every single day. He’s started doing things on the pitch with the ball. He’s really well, he’s desperate to come again and help the team. I hope that he’s close and can be available before the next international break.”

The manager added that Trevoh Chalobah remains in his plans despite reports linking him with a move in January.

“Chalobah is in my plan. No one is going to decide for me. The message is that all the players who are going to be here in January or after January, I am going to be involved in the decision.”

Mauricio Pochettino said football’s stakeholders should not be hypocritical in their judgement of Chelsea after the club’s spending surpassed £1billion under the ownership of Todd Boehly.

The £40million signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City on Friday pushed total outlay during the last 16 months into 10 figures, with more than £400m having been spent on 12 players in the summer window alone.

That has in part been offset by player sales for significant fees earlier in the window with 14 first-team departures since the end of the last season, most notably midfielders Kai Havertz and Mason Mount who left for a combined £120m.

It was also confirmed on Friday that 20-year-old striker Mason Burstow has joined Sunderland on a season-long loan while Callum Hudson-Odoi has signed for Nottingham Forest, ending a 16-year association with the club.

Chelsea host Forest at Stamford Bridge on Saturday looking to make it three wins in a row after victories against Luton in the Premier League and AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup.

The manager has previously said that anything less than Champions League qualification in his first season will be deemed a failure following the owners’ mammoth transfer outlay which has seen them break the British transfer record twice in 2023.

And with Boehly still relatively inexperienced in European football, Pochettino was at pains to emphasise his responsibility to help guide and advise his employer.

“You can talk about being very surprised about (the billion-pound landmark), or not,” said Pochettino. “It depends. Today football is… we need to evolve. Today it’s different. Completely different. We manage a different type of numbers.

“If 20 years ago we had thought this was going to happen, maybe no one would believe it. But today, it’s normal in football, this type of money moving around.

“It’s a big business, football. And we cannot stop. I think we all get the benefit here, no? I think we cannot be hypocrites. To be involved in football in different areas, you (the press) there or me here. We are living all (what) that business produces.

“I’m not going to be here to give lessons to anyone, but I think football is about getting a good balance. For me, yes Chelsea is spending money. But also it’s selling players. Money in and money out.

“In that case, people arrive in a club in the Premier League like our owners, it’s normal. They want to settle and develop their project, and we are people that are going to help them to be right in their decisions, because we are professionals of football.

“We are giving our vision and advice, and of course after (that) it’s up to them. That is a very special situation that happened from the beginning.”

Pochettino will have Mykhailo Mudryk available for selection after the winger missed last weekend’s 3-0 victory over Luton.

The Ukraine international, who signed for £88m from Shakhtar Donetsk in January but is yet to score or consistently show the kind of form that persuaded Chelsea to bring him to west London, has played just 54 minutes this season and is yet to start a game under Pochettino.

“He’s a very talented player,” said the manager. “He needs to first of all, before talking about football, he needs to feel comfortable, feel really strong in his body. He suffered (during) the (under-21) Euros, he only played one game (because) he was suffering from some injury.

“When I arrived here was never consistent in training, always something happened. Now we are focused and trying to help me to be really strong, healthy and feel good to start to perform.

“No one can perform if they do not feel strong and really confident in your body. It’s time we need to build his confidence. We are working. I hope in the next few weeks he starts to find his best form to start to help the team.”

Chelsea will give Cole Palmer time to get comfortable in his new environment after completing his £40million move from Manchester City, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The 21-year-old signed a seven-year deal on Friday to swap the club he joined aged seven for Pochettino’s new-look Stamford Bridge outfit.

The City academy graduate played 14 league games during the club’s Premier League title-winning season last term and was an unused substitute as they beat Inter Milan to win the Champions League in June.

Despite his increased involvement in the champions’ first team – which included scoring in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup this season – his new manager hinted a chance to play a more significant role in west London may have been a factor in persuading him to move.

He becomes the club’s 12th signing of the current transfer window, taking spending during the first 16 months of ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium over £1billion, but Pochettino said it is likely to be the last of the club’s business before Friday night’s deadline.

With so much player turnover and with the youngest average squad age in the league, he has stated repeatedly in the early weeks of the season that too much cannot be expected too soon and applied the same argument to Palmer’s arrival.

“I think he’s a fit for the project,” said the manager. “He’s a young, talented player. He decided to come because he expects to play maybe more and be important here.

“But that’s not the most important thing. The most important is that he sees Chelsea as a project for him, and to improve his game, and to be more involved every single game.

“The quality is there, there is great potential. Now he needs to settle here and prove and show that he’s better than his team-mates, and that he deserves to play. He has to fight for his place.

“He’s from Manchester and he’s going to move to London. London is different, the club is different, the culture and everything. First of all, before he starts to perform, he needs to settle in his space and feel comfortable.

“We’re not going to put pressure on him to perform (straight away). The most important thing now is to be happy and to find his space in the team.

“I think so (that is the end of transfer business). I think there’s no time. If something is going on, I don’t know. I didn’t talk to my sporting directors since 11 o’clock (Friday morning). If something is going to happen they will communicate with me.

“We are happy with the squad. I don’t believe that something will happen in the next few hours in terms of players in.”

The manager would not rule out the departure of Conor Gallagher, who has been the subject of a reported £40m bid from Tottenham.

The midfielder has started every game under Pochettino and captained the side in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win against AFC Wimbledon.

“I think all the players that are involved in the squad are in our plan,” said Pochettino. “After, it’s a decision between the club and the player.

“Always from our side, Conor was a player that is consistent and can perform in different positions. We are so happy with him.

“He was captain against Wimbledon, he’s an important player for us. What’s going to happen in the future, I  don’t know, I cannot tell you this. It’s like a player asks me ‘how do you see myself in the future?’ I don’t know, I cannot know. It’s up to you.”

The manager added that he had been under no illusion that Romelu Lukaku would play a role with the first team this season.

The striker finally departed on Thursday on a season-long loan to Roma, having not trained with the squad since returning from a stay at Inter nor been given a squad number.

“I’m not disappointed because it was so clear the situation,” said Pochettino. “I didn’t create any expectation in my mind. The club was clear in the situation.

“What I heard from the club was the that the player wanted to leave. It was clear he was not going to be here this season.”

1030 – DONE DEAL It’s one of the ones we were expecting as Manchester City complete the signing of Matheus Nunes from Wolves for £53million.

https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1697543082848268419

1030 – Here’s the latest transfer news from Tottenham: They will kick-start a busy day with the imminent loan departures of Japhet Tanganga and Sergio Reguilon to Augsburg and Manchester United respectively.

Spurs are also trying to shift Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Tanguy Ndombele, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil before the 11pm deadline, the PA news agency understands, while positive talks continue with Nottingham Forest over the proposed signing of Brennan Johnson.


1010 – DONE DEAL
Leeds continue to shape their squad following relegation back to the Championship, with full-back Cody Drameh heading back out on loan, this time to Birmingham.

1000 – DONE DEAL Another Manchester City youngster has left the Etihad with Tommy Doyle heading for Wolves.

The 21-year-old midfielder, like Cole Palmer an academy product at City, has joined Wolves on a year-long loan deal but there is the option for the switch to become permanent next summer.

1000 – DONE DEAL Nottingham Forest have added to their ranks with the signing of  defender Nuno Tavares, 23, from Arsenal on a season-long loan.

0945 – The Reds are due to complete the signing of Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch sometime today but will that be it for the Anfield outfit?

0944 –
“I’m busy” – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was keeping his cards close to his chest on deadline day.

0935 – Chelsea new boy Palmer, who has signed an initial seven-year deal, said: “I’m excited to get started and it feels great to sign.

“I’ve joined Chelsea because the project here sounds good and because of the platform I will have to try to showcase my talents. It is a young and hungry squad and, hopefully, we can do something special here.”

0930 – DONE DEAL Chelsea sign Cole Palmer from Manchester City.

The 21-year-old forward has left the treble winners for their Premier League rivals. That move will raise more than a few eyebrows.

The PA news agency understands Chelsea will pay an initial £40million for the City academy graduate with an additional £2.5m in possible add-ons.

0901 – DONE DEAL Things are starting to get going now after a slow start to transfer deadline day, with Southampton announcing the signing of England Under-21 captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis on a year-long loan from Manchester City.

0900 – Bayındır, who costs a reported £4.3million, will become the first Turkish player to represent United and his signing comes after Dean Henderson left Old Trafford for Crystal Palace on Thursday.


0900 – DONE DEAL
Manchester United have kicked things off by announcing the signing of Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayındır on an initial deal until 2027. The 25-year-old has joined from Fenerbahce, subject to international clearance.


0840 –
While big-money moves are likely to dominate today’s transfer talk, it is worth remembering that some big-name players also remain available as free agents – among them former Premier League favourites Eden Hazard and David de Gea.

0800 – As of Wednesday, these were the six biggest-spending clubs in the world for 2023-24. How different will that list look come close of play tonight?


0735 –
Amid all the transfer speculation, reports and conjecture, two deals that have already been agreed and are expected to be completed today are that of Matheus Nunes to Manchester City and Ryan Gravenberch to Liverpool.

0730 – Chelsea are no strangers to the transfer market and they could take their spending past the £1billion mark since Todd Boehly’s takeover with Cole Palmer of Manchester City a reported £40million target.


0725 –
Manchester United are looking to bolster their injury-hit squad with the likes of Sergio Reguilon, Marc Cucurella and Sofyan Amrabat among the players reportedly in their sights. 

0715 –
Mohamed Salah’s future is set to be one of the biggest talking points of transfer deadline day. Liverpool are hoping to keep hold of the 31-year-old Egypt international but speculation of big-money interest from Al-Ittihad persists.


0700

Welcome to the PA news agency’s live transfer deadline day blog .

The 2023 summer transfer window closes this evening at 11pm for Premier League and EFL clubs while it is midnight for teams in Scotland.

In the major European leagues there are various different deadlines today, from 1700 BST in Germany to 2300 BST in Spain, while the big-spending Saudi Pro League can continue buying players until September 7.

The likes of Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte have already swapped Europe for the Middle East this summer and it remains to be seen if they will be joined by any other big names in the coming week.

Clubs in the Women’s Super League, which does not kick-off until October, still have a few more weeks until their transfer window closes.

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