Chelsea vs Liverpool: Mauricio Pochettino urges officials to ignore the 'hype' of Jurgen Klopp farewell
Mauricio Pochettino hopes officials don’t get swept by the “hype” of Jurgen Klopp’s prolonged farewell from English football in the Carabao Cup final.
The Argentine believes referee Paul Tierney cost his team in the 4-1 defeat at Anfield last month. The match was just days after Klopp said he would leave the club at the end of the season.
The German remains one of the main talking points for Sunday’s showpiece at Wembley Stadium.
Pochettino wants fairness from Chris Kavanagh and his team of officials in what might be Klopp’s last domestic final.
“I think we need to be sure we are going to compete and be fair in every single decision,” the 51-year-old said. “I think when we played against Liverpool at Anfield, I think too many decisions … not one key decision was for us. Two penalties were not given. Duels, 50-50s, were always for another colour -- always red. I want to be treated in a fair way.”
Pochettino admits his team were also out-played on Merseyside but remains frustrated that Virgil van Dijk got away with two potential penalty calls, with Benoit Badiashile judged to have brought down Diogo Jota in the box.
“They were better than us, of course, but the first decision after five minutes was a clear penalty [for van Dijk’s foul on Gallagher]. In the second half, it was a penalty then on [Christopher] Nkunku.
“After you see the VAR that was interfering in many situations that were maybe similar, so give a penalty; why not? We are Chelsea and we need to compete with the same tools. If they are better, well done, and we congratulate them, but be fair in every single decision.
“The pressure is about not delivering the job for Klopp; no, the pressure is not to be part of the hype.”
Chelsea are 25 points behind league leaders Liverpool, but after improved performances away at Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City, Pochettino believes they can compete in a one-off match.
“Of course, we are going to celebrate [Klopp],” he concluded. “I am the first to say that Liverpool is amazing, and Klopp is one of the best coaches in the world. It is his last season here, but we will compete in the same way, both teams, and [we want] both clubs to be seen in the same way.
“With Liverpool, we are learning from our game and trying to find a way to punish them, and we are going to try like they are trying to find our weaknesses.”