Chelsea survived an FA Cup scare as Conor Gallagher came off the bench to score a last-minute winner and seal a 3-2 victory over Leeds at Stamford Bridge.

The substitute lashed the ball past the visitors’ goalkeeper Illan Meslier to grab what had looked an unlikely victory for much of the game, never more so than when the Blues fell behind inside eight minutes to the first of two goals from Mateo Joseph.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side rallied and looked to have put their woeful start behind them when first Nicolas Jackson and then Mykhailo Mudryk netted to send them in 2-1 up at the break.

Leeds would not lie down easy though, and Joseph headed them level after evading Trevoh Chalobah at the far post on the hour mark.

The home support bubbled with disquiet, sensing another cup mishap after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final loss to Liverpool.

Then came Gallagher’s late intervention to keep hopes of a Wembley return in May alive.

The opening 10 minutes were dominated by Leeds. They might have taken the lead when Daniel James found space on the edge of the box and acrobatically lobbed an effort wide.

It was a let-off for Chelsea, but they did not heed their good fortune. From the goal-kick, Axel Disasi played a short pass inside the penalty area that left Moises Caicedo vulnerable. Leeds snapped at his heels, dispossessing him, and the ball broke to Joseph, who cracked it past Robert Sanchez as Chelsea’s defence pointed fingers.

The first mutterings of discontent among the home support started, but they were doused before they had time to take hold. Caicedo made partial amends for his earlier error, sliding a precise ball through that split Leeds’ defence. Into the space strode Jackson, and he placed it into Meslier’s bottom corner to ease Chelsea nerves.

Thereafter they settled, and deservedly took the lead after 37 minutes. Noni Madueke carried the ball up through midfield and poked it to Malo Gusto wide on the right. He fed Raheem Sterling, who crossed for Mudryk to cap the move with a delightful finish, glancing it with a deft right foot wide of the goalkeeper and in.

James skied one over the bar from six yards as Leeds threatened an instant reply. Jaidon Anthony went closer when he curled wide from outside the box, a reminder that a stiff challenge might await Chelsea in the second half.

Daniel Farke’s team had won nine in a row in the league. Here they went up against Premier League opponents with the courage and skill to suggest they would fare well should they return to the top flight, but their hosts were giving ample encouragement.

The equaliser was straight forward and entirely avoidable from Chelsea’s point of view. Anthony was given space on the right to assess options and size up a cross. Stealing away at the far post was Jospeh, and his marker Chalobah paid him little heed as he stepped outside the defender and nodded past an exposed Sanchez.

The murmurs of disapproval began again from the stands, though they were largely drowned out by the away fans’ vocal support. They deserved better than the heartbreak that came as the clock ticked over to 90 minutes.

Enzo Fernandez was the architect of the winner, darting infield and through the heart of the defence and finally finding the pass that Chelsea had craved throughout the half. Gallagher, with fresh legs from the bench, let the ball run across him and with a swing of his right boot lashed Chelsea into the quarter-finals.

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa can be a springboard for his side to revive their ailing campaign.

The team gave arguably their best performance under the Argentinian in dispatching the Premier League high-flyers in Wednesday’s FA Cup fourth-round replay at Villa Park.

And it could not have come at a more opportune moment, arriving after the Blues were booed off by fans at the end of their previous outing, a 4-2 home loss to Wolves that left them 11th.

Chelsea have struggled to be consistent this season as a young squad have found expectations surrounding the club difficult to live up to, particularly in light of the £1billion transfer spend conducted by the ownership.

Yet they comprehensively defeated a Villa side currently in the top four and that recently enjoyed an unbeaten home run of almost year.

“Before (Villa) we had some good performances, but we are not consistent enough,” said Pochettino. “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 have a very good squad.

“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.”

Chelsea beat Villa with three outstanding goals, two in the first half from Conor Gallagher, who drilled left-footed into the top corner after 11 minutes, and Nicolas Jackson, whose strike was his first since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

Enzo Fernandez capped a brilliant win with a free-kick into the top corner beyond his Argentina team-mate Emiliano Martinez shortly after the break.

“It was only a matter of time,” said Pochettino. “I think Conor and Enzo, they are so good. They work a lot, always committed to the team and to the club.

“Great for Conor, great for Enzo also. They deserve to feel this way, to feel happy, to enjoy playing football. These two guys, they’ve worked so hard to try to perform. I’m so pleased with the performance from them.”

Chelsea will be without defender Benoit Badiashile for Monday’s meeting with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, after he went off with a groin injury at Villa Park.

Levi Colwill’s fitness will be assessed ahead of the game, although Pochettino confirmed summer signing Romeo Lavia is not yet close to returning.

The manager said it was “impossible” the Belgium international would be available before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on February 25.

Mauricio Pochettino came out fighting after Chelsea outclassed Aston Villa to breeze into the FA Cup fifth round.

Enzo Fernandez’s stunning free kick sealed a 3-1 victory and set up last-16 tie against Leeds at Stamford Bridge.

First-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson put Chelsea in control of the fourth round replay and they cruised to victory, despite Moussa Diaby’s injury-time consolation.

Chelsea had come to Villa Park in disarray on the back of 4-1 and 4-2 defeats to Liverpool and Wolves – leaving them 11th in the Premier League.

But Pochettino insists they cannot be compared to the dominant side from the Roman Abramovich era which won five Premier League titles – despite spending over £1billion under owner Todd Boehly.

He said: “We need to stop this thing that we are Chelsea from 20 years ago. We are not this type of Chelsea anymore. Now we need to move on and we need to create this project.

“We need to move on, I don’t care if people are happy or not happy with my speech. I care for the club, I care for my players, I want to help the players.

“We are going to fight, I don’t care what the people say. I’m not more sad or happy today after a win because we have experience, this type of project needs time and trust.

“We cannot build a team to challenge because you need to fix too many things, you need to observe, analyse and compete.

“We are building a project which may be one year, two years, three years.

“Today you can see we were ready to fight. We fight for the fans, the badge, the coaching staff. Now the challenge is to be consistent.”

Just as the Chelsea fans sung for former owner Abramovich the visitors took the lead after 11 minutes.

Jackson and Noni Madueke combined to tee up Gallagher to find the top corner for his first goal of the season.

Ten minutes later it was 2-0 as Chelsea tore Villa apart down the right and Malo Gusto’s perfect cross was nodded in by Jackson.

There was barely a response from the hosts – who lost their 11-month unbeaten home league run to Newcastle last week – and Emi Martinez saved Cole Palmer’s effort as Chelsea looked for a third.

They found it nine minutes after the break when Fernandez, having been lucky to earn a foul off Youri Tielemans, curled a brilliant 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.

Villa were beaten but managed a consolation in stoppage time when Diaby’s strike went in off both posts and they now welcome a resurgent Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

Boss Unai Emery said: “We were excited and motivated and we started well, we didn’t score but we were feeling good.

“When they were getting in our box we were not being strong and they were affecting us. They got into our box with some crosses and were clinical.

“I was more or less feeling the difference was the clinical way for them.

“We scored a little bit late and had no time to score the second goal. We have to accept and analyse the match. To beat them is not easy when you’re not being clinical.”

Mauricio Pochettino thanked Chelsea supporters for the reception given to Nicolas Jackson during the 2-1 home win against Crystal Palace, as the striker prepares to play for the final time before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Pochettino takes his team to play Luton on Saturday lunchtime looking to build on Wednesday’s victory at Stamford Bridge and end a run of four consecutive away Premier League defeats.

Jackson was jeered by his own fans when he was substituted during the second half of the loss to Wolves on Christmas Eve, but recovered to give one of his more impressive performances for the club against Palace.

He had a goal disallowed for a fractional offside, finishing brilliantly on the volley from Axel Disasi’s cross, and showed good movement to get on the end of a pass from Conor Gallagher before shooting wide.

He also set up Mykhailo Mudryk in the first half with an intelligent back heel, but the Ukrainian’s effort was blocked by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The manager emphasised that the 22-year-old Senegal international, who is the team’s top scorer with eight in all competitions, does not yet have the experience that previous Chelsea strikers brought with them when joining the club.

“(Against Palace) he was really good,” Pochettino. “He was only missing a goal. In the way he worked for team and ran and pressed, he was amazing.

“We are putting too much focus on him. We need to give him time, we need to believe in him. I think it was really nice the fans in the moment he missed the chances, they were very supportive. I really appreciate the fans that support him.

“Only with time he is going to be more relaxed and calm. Already he has scored goals, it’s not that he doesn’t score. If we check in the past, strikers that arrive at different clubs in England, if they can perform in the first season.

“We’re in months (since he joined), but (people) want that he score goals like (Didier) Drogba or (Jimmy Floyd) Hasselbaink. They came with different experience. You have to look at the background of the player. He’s young, came from Spain, not playing too much. He’s a very good prospect, amazing potential.

“Playing for Chelsea is not the same as playing for a different club, with all respect. The pressure is always when you took the ball to be fantastic.”

Pochettino said that he expected to play a role in any transfer business the club might conduct in January.

Previously targets have been selected by co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart but the manager confirmed he will have a say over possible new recruits.

He has spoken in recent weeks about a possible need for reinforcements if results and performances do not improve.

“It’s obvious that a head coach or manager is going to be involved,” he said. “It’s crazy to think I won’t be involved in any decision for the future in my area.

“We are going share (opinions) with the owners and sporting director. I cannot conceive the idea of not being involved.”

Mauricio Pochettino praised Chelsea’s response to back-to-back Premier League defeats as they recovered to beat Sheffield United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts fought back from a dour first-half showing – and off the back of losses to Manchester United and Everton – to hit two quick-fire goals in the second period through Nicolas Jackson and the influential Cole Palmer.

The first was well worked between Palmer and Raheem Sterling, the summer signing from Manchester City working the ball wide and continuing his run into the box to tap home Sterling’s low cross.

And Palmer was the architect minutes later as Jackson made it two, lifting the ball into the box for Sterling and Conor Gallagher to attack, and as it was spilled by Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham, Palmer was there to knock it back to Jackson for 2-0.

It had been a maddening first half for home supporters to endure, with a single effort on target to show from their side despite racking up 80 per cent possession against the league’s bottom club.

It took Palmer’s intervention after 54 minutes, playing a clever ball to Sterling who shot past his man with a burst of acceleration, starting and finishing the move that finally broke the Blades down after a turgid opening.

His creative involvement for the second was a further reminder of the 21-year-old’s capacity to turn a game single-handedly as yet another scoreless outing loomed for Pochettino’s side.

Afterwards the manager pointed to a change of position in the second half – swapping with Sterling to take up a more central role – as the key.

“I think we talked a lot during the week after Everton about needing drastic change,” said Pochettino. “It was important to confirm that we are in a good way. The team in the first half was frustrated because we couldn’t find a way past the low block of Sheffield United.

“We didn’t show the capacity to be flexible and it was easy for them to identify our position and to block us and make us put the ball in positions that were easy for them to stop.

“The second half we were much better, we fixed things. The team started to find better possibilities to play, to link much better. Cole from the right, going into the space, started to link better with team-mates and be the player that we want to use – a playmaker.”

Pochettino left midfielder Enzo Fernandez on the bench, with Gallagher instead taking up a position in central midfield alongside Moises Caicedo.

The manager confirmed the World Cup-winner is likely to return for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Newcastle.

“You only can play 11,” he said. “It’s a big competition, sometimes you need one profile or another and you choose the players. The combination between Caicedo and Gallagher, using Cole like a number 10, that was the possibility for the best combination for today.

“I’m happy because three points are important and Tuesday we have an important game against Newcastle. To arrive in that game with a good feeling is really important, to have the confidence that we can go through.”

Blades boss Chris Wilder reflected on a game in which his players gave travelling supporters much to be proud of.

“I don’t like when one player goes off to clap supporters on their own, if we’re going to do it we go together,” he said.

“That’s important to me and it was important that they quickly got that message because for a big period, we were in the game and we were fighting our way against an outstanding manager and some top individuals.”

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said Tottenham went down with “the flag held high” in their 4-1 loss to Chelsea and has backed the squad to cope with the absence of key personnel.

Spurs lost their unbeaten start to the Premier League season in a pulsating London derby in which five goals were disallowed and the hosts played the final 35 minutes with nine men.

To add salt into fresh Tottenham wounds, Micky van de Ven was forced off with a hamstring injury and James Maddison had to be withdrawn due to an ankle knock, while Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, who were both sent off, will sit out this weekend’s trip to Wolves.

Ange Postecoglou’s side battled admirably, first with 10 men from the 35th minute and then when down to nine early in the second half, but Nicolas Jackson grabbed the first of his three goals with quarter of an hour left to finally break the hosts’ resolve.

Hojbjerg said: “I think we went down with the flag held high. We gave it our all but the result hurts a lot.

“We showed what we had in our hearts but the result hurts.

“Tuesday we have a day off and when we see each other on Wednesday, we’ll gather the pieces and focus on the next game, as we have to.

“Everyone has to show their availability and show they are prepared to do what it takes.

“A good squad is not 11 players. It is 18 or 25 players and this is what we have to show. The result hurts a lot but we have to keep going.”

Mauricio Pochettino’s first return to Tottenham had initially started in the worst possible fashion when Dejan Kulusevski’s curled effort deflected off Levi Colwill and beyond the helpless Robert Sanchez after six minutes.

The wheels started to fall off during a 57-minute first half where four goals were chalked off by video assistant referee John Brooks at Stockley Park, who decided that Romero’s tackle on Enzo Fernandez was worthy of a red card and a penalty in the 33rd minute.

Spurs’ uphill task increased further when Udogie was shown a second yellow after 10 minutes of the second period, but Postecoglou deployed a high line and Guglielmo Vicario starred in the sweeper-keeper role before Jackson made it 2-1.

Tottenham remained resolute and started to create chances with substitute Eric Dier marginally offside when he volleyed home soon after Jackson’s first goal before Rodrigo Bentancur and Son Heung-min squandered opportunities.

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Jackson made the points safe in stoppage time when he lashed in from Conor Gallagher’s pass, but Spurs supporters greeted the goal with a standing ovation for their crestfallen players.

Kulusevski said: “It was unbelievable, honestly. Some things are bigger than life, bigger than football, bigger than the wins.

“Honestly I was really proud of that moment and the fans. I was grateful and it makes me want to give more back.

“It has to give us fuel. We lost the game, we hate to lose, it was the first of the season, but we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again and play 11 v 11 because then it is much harder to beat us.”

The consequences of this defeat could be long-lasting with Romero set for a three-match ban, which will rule him out of matches with Wolves, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Of bigger concern is centre-back partner Van de Ven after he pulled up at the end of the first half in a sprint with Jackson, which saw him helped off the pitch and he was later seen on crutches.

Udogie will also miss Saturday’s clash at Wolves and with Ben Davies nursing an ankle knock, Postecoglou could use Under-21 defenders Ash Phillips or Alfie Dorrington this weekend.

“It will be a test for sure. They (Van de Ven and Maddison) are amazing players and I hope they are back very, very soon, but as you saw the players that came in were amazing,” Kulusevski said.

“We train really hard every day and everybody is ready. You saw Eric Dier, he came in, did his first appearance and was unbelievable. The guys are ready.

“Everybody wants to play and it is so high level the training. So, if (Phillips) will be called, he will be ready.”

Chelsea ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season with an extraordinary 4-1 win over their London rivals on Monday evening.

A hat-trick from Nicolas Jackson helped Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino enjoy a successful return to his former club, but only after a pulsating contest with two red cards and five disallowed goals.

Here, the PA news agency looks at 10 of the greatest games in the Premier League era.

Manchester City 3 QPR 2 (May 2012)

Perhaps the most significant of all. City started this game knowing a win would earn them a first Premier League title but when they went 2-1 down – even against 10 men – it looked as though rivals Manchester United would take the trophy. However, Edin Dzeko scored in the second minute of time added on to level and Sergio Aguero (or, to quote Sky commentator Martin Tyler, “Agueroooooooooo”) won both the match and the title with 93:20 on the clock.

Arsenal 4 Tottenham 4 (October 2008)

Best remembered for David Bentley’s stunning opener for Tottenham against his former club, this game saw Spurs come back from 4-2 down to earn a point. Trailing to Bentley’s amazing volley, the Gunners exposed Spurs’ weakness at defending set-pieces to lead through Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas. Emmanuel Adebayor added a third for the hosts before Darren Bent pulled one back. When Robin van Persie restored Arsenal’s two-goal cushion it had looked all over, but Harry Redknapp’s men showed a new resilience and Jermaine Jenas’ late strike gave them hope before Aaron Lennon struck at the death.

Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 (April 1996)

Sure to feature on everyone’s classic list, this was the game which saw Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan slump over the front of the dugout as his side’s title chances went up in smoke. Liverpool came back from 2-0 down to level, only to see Faustino Asprilla make it 3-2 seconds later. Stan Collymore soon levelled and then won it two minutes into added time, with Tyler again taking over with his line of “Collymore closing in”.

Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4 (February 2011)

The game that demonstrated why supporters should never leave early. When Theo Walcott scored for Arsenal 44 seconds into this game it set the tone for a blistering period of away play, with Johan Djourou and Van Persie, who netted twice, putting Arsenal 4-0 up. However, the game turned as Abou Diaby saw red for Arsenal and Newcastle mounted a stellar comeback. Two penalties from Joey Barton and a Leon Best goal gave them a foothold, but they still needed a brilliant 87th-minute volley from Cheick Tiote to get a point.

Leicester 3 Arsenal 3 (August 1997)

Perhaps best remembered for Dennis Bergkamp’s brilliant solo goal, this game had far more to it. The Dutchman’s wonder goal, which sealed his hat-trick, was actually to put Arsenal up after Matt Elliott had scored in the third minute of stoppage time for Leicester to make it 2-2, but there was still time for Steve Walsh to score another dramatic goal and make it 3-3.

Norwich 4 Liverpool 5 (January 2016)

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp lost his glasses amid wild celebrations on the touchline after Adam Lallana’s last-minute strike gave Liverpool an astonishing first Premier League win of 2016. Klopp’s men had trailed 3-1 with under 30 minutes to go, then led 4-3 before Sebastien Bassong’s stoppage-time goal levelled matters. But there was still time for substitute Lallana to mis-hit a shot into the ground and secure a 5-4 victory.

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 3 (October 1999)

Nigeria forward Kanu took centre stage as the Gunners mounted a terrific comeback against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Headers from Tore Andre Flo and Dan Petrescu got Chelsea 2-0 up, but then Kanu took control. He pulled two back from close range in regulation time and then, in stoppage time, broke free, skipped past goalkeeper Ed de Goey by the corner flag and then curled in the winner from an improbable angle.

Tottenham 4 Leicester 4 (February 2004)

Just 18 days after squandering a 3-0 half-time lead against 10-man Manchester City to be dumped out of the FA Cup, David Pleat’s Spurs needed a late equaliser from Jermain Defoe to avoid another embarrassing defeat in the league. Defoe had put the home side 2-1 up after 13 minutes and Robbie Keane made it 3-1 before half an hour had elapsed, but Les Ferdinand pulled one back against his former club before James Scowcroft was sent off. Leicester’s 10 men improbably took the lead through goals from Ben Thatcher and Marcus Bent before Defoe’s leveller.

Tottenham 4 Arsenal 5 (November 2004)

Four years before the 4-4 thriller at the Emirates, White Hart Lane hosted a similarly high-scoring affair prolific tie between the two local rivals. The home side took the lead through Noureddine Naybet, but Arsenal equalised through Thierry Henry and then went 3-1 ahead through Lauren, who converted a penalty won by Freddie Ljungberg, and Patrick Vieira. Jermain Defoe pulled one back almost immediately before Ljungberg and Ledley King traded goals and, although Robert Pires added Arsenal’s fifth nine minutes from time, Freddie Kanoute’s goal made for a frantic finish.

West Ham 5 Bradford 4 (February 2000)

West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop suffered a broken leg just minutes into the game to hand a debut to 18-year-old Stephen Bywater, who conceded four goals but still ended up on the winning side. The comeback from 4-2 down started with 25 minutes left when Frank Lampard and Paolo Di Canio argued over who would take a penalty, Di Canio eventually winning the tussle and converting from the spot. Joe Cole soon equalised and Lampard scored the winner from the edge of the box with seven minutes remaining.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson promised to work even harder after his hat-trick earned boss Mauricio Pochettino a statement victory at former club Tottenham.

Jackson’s second-half treble settled a pulsating London derby where five goals were disallowed and red cards were shown to Spurs pair Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie either side of half-time.

While Chelsea were far from vintage on their way to a 4-1 victory, Jackson eventually made the difference.

The Senegal attacker side-footed home his first goal in the 75th minute from Raheem Sterling’s cross before he grabbed a similar second after Conor Gallagher’s pass and completed his treble in the seventh minute of stoppage time when he rounded Guglielmo Vicario.

After receiving more yellow cards (five) than goals (three) during the first three months of the campaign, the £31million summer signing from Villarreal was pleased to start to pay back his price tag on Monday night.

Jackson: “Yeah, very happy. It was a difficult time for everybody in the team, but now we are coming back slowly, slowly and I am very happy to score three goals.

“It has been very difficult (for me) but life is like this. Now my first hat-trick and I am very happy I did it in the biggest club in England and everywhere.

“Always need to improve, always need to work harder. We continue working and now this (hat-trick) is the past, so we forget about it and move forward.

“We were dreaming about this, playing big games and winning big games. Now we continue to work hard and the confidence is coming slowly, slowly.”

Chelsea’s youthful side had struggled for consistency during the early months of Pochettino’s tenure, with battling draws against Liverpool and Arsenal married with home defeats to Nottingham Forest and Brentford.

Pochettino watched the Blues struggle to make their numerical advantage count against Tottenham until captain Reece James played through Sterling, who squared for Jackson to slide home with quarter of an hour left in N17.

Next up for the 10th-placed Blues is the visit of champions Manchester City on Sunday, which means a reunion for Cole Palmer against his old club.

Palmer, who took his Chelsea goal to three with the equaliser against Spurs, told Sky Sports: “This was a big game, we knew it was before we came into it. Big stadium and obviously they were unbeaten, but we thought we could come here and get a result and we did that.

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“Obviously it is easier to play against nine men, but we knew we needed to win the game when they went down to 10 and then when they went down to nine especially.

“We knew we needed to score and if we kept pressing, making the runs in behind, because their line was so high, we would get in and we did eventually.

“It has obviously been a difficult start for Nico, no hiding from it, but he was brilliant.

“He just needs to work hard on the training pitch and keep his head down. Then I think he will get many more hat-tricks.”

Ange Postecoglou lamented that VAR has diminished the authority of referees after he watched nine-man Tottenham lose 4-1 to Chelsea.

A frenetic meeting between the two rivals saw five disallowed goals, two red cards, a penalty and two Spurs players forced off during the first half with injury, as Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino marked his return to north London by ending the Premier League’s last unbeaten record.

But the match was dominated by VAR’s involvement with the red cards two of nine decisions referred to the video referee.

Even with nine men the hosts continued to take the game to Chelsea and were well in the contest before Nicolas Jackson twice sprung their high line in stoppage time to add his team’s third and fourth goals and complete an unlikely hat-trick.

Postecoglou’s team had been comfortably on top in the first half before Cristian Romero’s red card in the 33rd minute, dismissed for a dangerous challenge on Enzo Fernandez and conceding the penalty from which Cole Palmer equalised Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected goal.

Destiny Udogie followed 10 minutes into the second half, receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Raheem Sterling, but it took a further 20 minutes before Chelsea finally took the lead for the first time through Jackson.

Spurs’ night was compounded by the loss of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to injury, on top of what is likely to be a three-game ban for Romero.

But it was VAR’s impact that dominated Postecoglou’s thoughts after the game after a total of 21 minutes were added on at the end of each half.

“It’s hard to analyse from a football perspective,” he said.

“We’re left with a result which is disappointing, but (I’m) super-proud of the players’ efforts and will and desire to get something from the game.

“(Lengthy VAR pauses) are going to become the norm, I think it’s where the game is heading. Unfortunately it’s how we’re going to have to watch and participate in football from now on.

“I don’t like it. I don’t like the standing around, the whole theatre around waiting for decisions. But I know I’m in the wilderness on that.

“In my 26 years, I was always prepared to accept the referee’s decision, good, bad or otherwise, and I’ve had some shockers in my career. I’ve had some go my way as well.

“I’ll cop that because I just want the game to be played. But when we’re complaining about decisions every week, this is what’s going to happen.

“People are going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure they’re comfortable it’s right, and even at the end of that, we’re still not happy.

“It’s just diminishing the authority of the referee. You can’t tell me referees are in control of games. They’re not. Control is outside of that, but that’s where the game’s going. You have to accept it and try and deal with it.”

Pochettino reflected on a game in which, despite a host of contentious decisions, he felt his team were deserved victors.

“I think we deserved to win,” he said.

“We forced them to make too many mistakes. Tottenham were better in the first 15 minutes but then we matched the game. Our performance was good.

“Everything you can see during the game I think was fair. We compare to the Tottenham/Liverpool game, a similar game like today. Liverpool complained. But today, everything that happened was fair. That’s why I think 4-1, the performance was good.”

Ange Postecoglou lamented that VAR has diminished the authority of referees after he watched nine-man Tottenham lose for the first time in the Premier League against Chelsea.

It was a frenetic meeting between the two rivals that saw five disallowed goals, two red cards, a penalty and two Spurs players forced off during the first half with injury, as Mauricio Pochettino marked his return to north London with a memorable 4-1 victory.

But the match was dominated by VAR’s involvement with the red cards two of nine decisions referred to the video referee.

Even with nine men the hosts continued to take the game to Chelsea and were well in the contest before Nicolas Jackson twice sprung their high line in stoppage time to add his team’s third and fourth goals and complete an unlikely hat-trick.

Postecoglou’s team had been comfortably on top in the first half before Cristian Romero’s red card in the 33rd minute, dismissed for a dangerous challenge on Enzo Fernandez and conceding the penalty from which Cole Palmer equalised Dejan Kulusevski’s deflected goal.

Destiny Udogie was also dismissed on 55 minutes, receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Raheem Sterling, but it took a further 20 minutes before Chelsea finally took the lead for the first time through Jackson.

Spurs’ night was compounded by the loss of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to injury on top of what is likely to be a three-game ban for Romero.

But it was VAR’s impact that dominated Postecoglou’s thoughts after the game after a total of 21 minutes were added on at the end of each half.

“It’s hard to analyse from a football perspective,” he said.

“We’re left with a result which is disappointing, but super proud of the players’ efforts and will and desire to get something from the game.

“(Lengthy VAR pauses) are going to become the norm, I think it’s where the game is heading. Unfortunately it’s how we’re going to have to watch and participate in football from now on.

“I don’t like it. I don’t like the standing around, the whole theatre around waiting for decisions. But I know I’m in the wilderness on that.

“In my 26 years, I was always prepared to accept the referee’s decision, good, bad or otherwise, and I’ve had some shockers in my career. I’ve had some go my way as well.

“I’ll cop that because I just want the game to be played. But when we’re complaining about defections every week, this is what’s going to happen.

“People are going to forensically scrutinise everything to make sure they’re comfortable it’s right, and even at the end of that, we’re still not happy.

“It’s just diminishing the authority of the referee. You can’t tell me referees are in control of games. They’re not. Control is outside of that, but that’s where the game’s going. You have to accept it and try and deal with it.”

Pochettino reflected on a game in which, despite a host of contentious decisions, he felt his team were deserved victors.

“I think we deserved to win,” he said.

“We forced them to make too many mistakes. Tottenham were better in the first 15 minutes but then we matched the game. Our performance was good.

“Everything you can see during the game I think was fair. We compare to the Tottenham Liverpool game, a similar game like today. Liverpool complained. But today, everything that happened was fair. That’s why I think 4-1, the performance was good.”

Mauricio Pochettino defended Nicolas Jackson after the misfiring Chelsea striker was criticised by supporters during the Blues’ 2-0 home defeat to Brentford.

Jackson has scored two Premier League goals since his summer move from Villarreal.

Pochettino clarified that a fan had told the striker to “wake up” after a poor first-half display.

Ahead of their last-16 Carabao Cup clash against Blackburn, the Chelsea boss supported his player.

“We cannot abuse, even if you say ‘wake up’, because I think it’s not right,” Pochettino told a press conference on Tuesday.

“He suffered an injury (to his hand during the last international break), it’s difficult to train, to keep fit and to score goals.

“Nico (Jackson) needs support.

“He wants to help the team and for different reasons he’s not performing. He played with a cast after he broke his hand.

“Fans can criticise us and they’re frustrated but they need to analyse the situation.

“Jackson is young, he arrived this season and there are circumstances that didn’t help him perform his best.

“You think we should throw him into the bin and say he’s useless? We have to give the confidence.

“He’s our striker, he’s our player and it’s about supporting the player.”

Chelsea’s lack of cutting-edge in front of goal saw them beaten at home for the third time this season.

Argentinian Pochettino wants his young team to be more “aggressive and nasty”,  but noted that will come with experience.

He added: “We didn’t score because we need to decide ourselves.

“We were not aggressive enough and that’s why they had their chance in the second half and we conceded.

“We need to improve and to be more competitive, more nasty.

“That is experience, team experience, as a team we need more patience.

“We need to be competitive; I feel the responsibility and we are Chelsea, we need to win this type of game.”

Raheem Sterling made a point to Gareth Southgate as he sparked a Chelsea comeback in a 4-1 win at Burnley, who slumped to a fifth consecutive home defeat to start the Premier League season.

Burnley stunned Chelsea 15 minutes in when 18-year-old Wilson Odobert became the Clarets’ youngest Premier League scorer.

But Sterling, again snubbed by the England boss for next week’s internationals, helped turn the game around either side of half-time as Chelsea maintained their long unbeaten record at Turf Moor, where they have only once dropped points in nine visits in the Premier League era.

It was Sterling’s cross that deflected off Ameen Al Dakhil for a 42nd minute equaliser before he won the penalty dispatched by Cole Palmer early in the second half.

Sterling then capped a fine performance with Chelsea’s third in the 65th minute, hitting a confident strike into the bottom corner before substitute Nicolas Jackson added a fourth, with Sterling again involved in the build-up.

Coming off the back of Monday’s 2-0 win at Fulham, Chelsea have won back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since March, but these remain baby steps for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who were arguably second best for much of the first half.

Vincent Kompany showed no sentiment in making four changes to the Burnley side that took their first league win of the season at Luton on Tuesday night, and was rewarded with a surprise early lead.

Lyle Foster cut in from the right but as he saw his own angle to shoot rapidly closing, the South African unselfishly played in Odobert who threaded the ball between Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez.

Burnley were suddenly in buoyant mood. Fans might have been disappointed to see Luca Koleosho only on the bench but Odobert and Mike Tresor, both making their first starts, made them forget with some fearless attacking play.

The pair almost combined for a second in the 22nd minute as Odobert sent in a cross from the left and Tresor capitalised on a sleeping Chelsea defence to win the ball, then missed the target.

Chelsea, who had not won in their previous 19 Premier League games when conceding first, initially struggled to muster a response, but Sterling looked like Chelsea’s best way back into the match and so it proved.

He went close in the 37th minute, beating two defenders before trying to put the ball through the legs of James Trafford, who just about kept it out.

But there was nothing Trafford could do five minutes later when Sterling’s cross took a wicked deflection off Al Dakhil to loop into the net.

Two minutes into the second half, a sudden burst of speed from Sterling took him away from Vitinho, who clipped the Chelsea man on the edge of the box.

Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot and a lengthy check from VAR Darren Bond allowed Cole Palmer time to pick the spot for his first Chelsea goal as he sent England under-21 team-mate Trafford the wrong way.

Odobert saw a dipping, curling shot touched over by Sanchez, but it was Chelsea who scored a decisive third 10 minutes later.

Moises Caicedo won back possession with two challenges on the half-way line and Gallagher quickly picked out the run of Sterling, whose confident finish found the bottom right corner of the net.

Burnley fans started to head for the exits in the 74th minute when Sterling crossed to Palmer, who found Jackson, on as a substitute on his return from suspension, and he skipped away from Dara O’Shea in front of goal before applying the finish.

Odobert and substitute Koleosho both threatened for Burnley late on, but they became only the fifth side to start a season with five consecutive home defeats in top-flight history.

Chelsea earned respite from their difficult start to the season under Mauricio Pochettino as Nicolas Jackson’s second-half goal gave them a 1-0 win against Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Roberto De Zerbi’s high-flying visitors dominated possession for much of the game but home fans witnessed their side put on an effective counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea had gone three games without scoring, but that run ended when Jackson struck early in the second half after being set up by Cole Palmer, planting a composed finish into the corner to ease his personal struggles in front of goal.

Pochettino made five changes from the side beaten by Aston Villa on Sunday, with Palmer brought in for his first start.

The former Manchester City forward began in an advanced three alongside Mykhailo Mudryk and Ian Maatsen, but was at his most effective when dropping to receive the ball deep, seeking out the critical final-third passes that have eluded Chelsea and meant they have scored just five league goals in six games.

Jackson had an early sight of goal, winning the ball on the edge of Brighton’s box and hitting a left-footed drive that deflected over.

Robert Sanchez was one of three former Brighton players in the Chelsea line-up and twice in the first period the goalkeeper almost gifted his former side the lead, first passing the ball straight to the feet of Joao Pedro who chipped it inches over the bar, then putting Moises Caicedo under pressure in a central position. He was dispossessed by Carlo Baleba, who rolled the ball to Ansu Fati to fire wide from the best opening of the half.

Brighton had enjoyed 66 per cent possession by the half-hour mark, leaving Chelsea to look for openings on the break.

The lively Mudryk ran in behind from Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass, only for Tariq Lamptey to slide in with an expertly timed intervention.

Minutes later, Mudryk turned provider, latching on to Levi Colwill’s forceful tackle that sent the ball spinning upfield and crossing low to the near post for Palmer to side-foot wide under pressure from Igor Julio.

Chelsea had endured their worst start to a season in 45 years but relief looked finally to have arrived five minutes after half-time.

Maatsen received the ball centrally and laid it into the feet of Palmer, who had been a lurking first-half threat playing between the lines. He tucked it in cleverly to Jackson, who wrong-footed Bart Verbruggen to guide home his second goal for the club.

It was just the third time this season that Pochettino had seen his team take the lead, and they should have gone further in front when Mudryk’s energetic midfield pressing won the ball and set Jackson away, but this time the goalkeeper got the best of their duel after spreading himself well.

Home fans thought Jackson had scored the second goal his performance deserved when he slotted home from Palmer’s pass, but the offside flag cut short celebrations.

Brighton had late chances to level, first when Pervis Estupinan collected a raking ball and ran it to the byline, but no one had gambled as his cross fizzed across goal.

Pedro then thumped a volley over the bar from Axel Disasi’s weak headed clearance but Chelsea held on to finally hand Pochettino room to breathe.

Chelsea earned respite from their difficult start to the season under Mauricio Pochettino as Nicolas Jackson’s second-half goal gave them a 1-0 win against Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Roberto De Zerbi’s high-flying visitors dominated possession for much of the game but home fans witnessed their side put on an effective counter-attacking display at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea had gone three games without scoring, but that run ended when Jackson struck early in the second half after being set up by Cole Palmer, planting a composed finish into the corner to ease his personal struggles in front of goal.

Pochettino made five changes from the side beaten by Aston Villa on Sunday, with Palmer brought in for his first start.

The former Manchester City forward began in an advanced three alongside Mykhailo Mudryk and Ian Maatsen, but was at his most effective when dropping to receive the ball deep, seeking out the critical final-third passes that have eluded Chelsea and meant they have scored just five league goals in six games.

Jackson had an early sight of goal, winning the ball on the edge of Brighton’s box and hitting a left-footed drive that deflected over.

Robert Sanchez was one of three former Brighton players in the Chelsea line-up and twice in the first period the goalkeeper almost gifted his former side the lead, first passing the ball straight to the feet of Joao Pedro who chipped it inches over the bar, then putting Moises Caicedo under pressure in a central position. He was dispossessed by Carlo Baleba, who rolled the ball to Ansu Fati to fire wide from the best opening of the half.

Brighton had enjoyed 66 per cent possession by the half-hour mark, leaving Chelsea to look for openings on the break.

The lively Mudryk ran in behind from Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass, only for Tariq Lamptey to slide in with an expertly timed intervention.

Minutes later, Mudryk turned provider, latching on to Levi Colwill’s forceful tackle that sent the ball spinning upfield and crossing low to the near post for Palmer to side-foot wide under pressure from Igor Julio.

Chelsea had endured their worst start to a season in 45 years but relief looked finally to have arrived five minutes after half-time.

Maatsen received the ball centrally and laid it into the feet of Palmer, who had been a lurking first-half threat playing between the lines. He tucked it in cleverly to Jackson, who wrong-footed Bart Verbruggen to guide home his second goal for the club.

It was just the third time this season that Pochettino had seen his team take the lead, and they should have gone further in front when Mudryk’s energetic midfield pressing won the ball and set Jackson away, but this time the goalkeeper got the best of their duel after spreading himself well.

Home fans thought Jackson had scored the second goal his performance deserved when he slotted home from Palmer’s pass, but the offside flag cut short celebrations.

Brighton had late chances to level, first when Pervis Estupinan collected a raking ball and ran it to the byline, but no one had gambled as his cross fizzed across goal.

Pedro then thumped a volley over the bar from Axel Disasi’s weak headed clearance but Chelsea held on to finally hand Pochettino room to breathe.

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.”