Brighton: Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s late arrival on the brink of European qualification is a reward for the club’s patience during a difficult season.
Pochettino’s side moved up to sixth in the Premier League with a game in hand after a 2-1 win at Brighton on Wednesday.
Cole Palmer put them ahead in the 34th minute when he scored his 22nd league goal of the season.
Christopher Nkunku’s 64th-minute strike gave Chelsea the win after Blues defender Rhys James stunned Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
Danny Welbeck reduced the early deficit but Chelsea secured their fourth league win in a row for the first time since October 2022.
In the other game on Wednesday, Newcastle lost 3-2 at Manchester United.
The Blues will qualify for next season’s Europa League unless they lose to Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Sunday or beat seventh-placed Newcastle Brentford.
Chelsea can move up to fifth if they beat Bournemouth and Tottenham lose at Sheffield United.
Pochettino’s impressive turnaround has met with criticism in his first season.
Amid calls for his dismissal, Pochettino has even hinted that he could leave at the end of the season, saying it would not be the end of the world if he was fired by boss Todd Boehly.
But after Chelsea’s European shutout, Argentina was more upbeat, praising the club’s hierarchy for sticking to its plan.
“We have improved results and performances. We have been linked with patience and it always seems to be an excuse in a big club when you have to build something that takes time,” he said.
“The evolution of the team is there. We continue to work and remain positive and it will be good for the club to get good results.”
Despite spending more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) on new signings during his two-year reign, Boehly’s consortium left Pochettino and a young, inexperienced squad often falling behind.
Pochettino said the win at Brighton meant they were fighting for the club.
Big credit to the players, we fully deserved to win. So I’m very happy. We dream of playing in Europe next season,” said Pochettino.
“The three points put us in a good position to attack in the final game in Bournemouth with the possibility of being in Europe.”
Palmer has been a star performer for Chelsea this season following his surprise move from Manchester City in September.
The young England striker’s latest goal is to speed up Chelsea’s £42million investment after Chelsea were desperate to leave City in search of regular game time.
“Chelsea is a big club and everyone wants to finish higher than sixth but we have to see where we are at the start of the season so going back to Europe would be the right step,” said Palmer.
