Mauricio Pochettino’s half-time masterstroke lights up Stamford Bridge

Mauricio Pochettino’s half-time switch paid off as Chelsea secured back-to-back home wins in the Premier League for the first time since October last year.

Booed off by a smattering of supporters at the end of a first-half in which Chelsea managed just one shot on target, head coach Pochettino had much to ponder.

Rather than make a switch from the bench, Pochettino decided to swap Cole Palmer, who had started in the number 10 position, and Raheem Sterling, who opened the game on the right.

That change paid dividends, as Palmer and Sterling combined for Palmer to break the deadlock and the summer signing then teed up Nicolas Jackson.

“In the second half, I think we fixed different positions and started to find different possibilities with the ball and stretch the line with Raheem and Jackson going into the space,” said Pochettino, whose voice had nearly gone at the end of a week in which he admitted he had shouted more than normal.

“In the first half, we didn’t give the possibility for Palmer and the team to find better positions on the pitch. That is why we changed. We moved some pieces, changed the positions and we were much better. We started to create a real problem for Sheffield United to identify the different positions.”

It was a good start to a crucial four-day period for Pochettino, despite the uninspiring first-half, with Chelsea desperate to breathe life into their season.

Chelsea simply had to win this game ahead of Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United, with Stamford Bridge insiders still clinging on to the hope of Pochettino’s team somehow finishing the season with silverware and European qualification.

“You always need to believe that it must be a really important result for us, to make us believe we can do it in a different way,” said Pochettino. “I think we were talking a lot during the week after Everton, that we need to make a drastic change.

“I think today the team in the first half was a little bit frustrated because we didn’t find a way to break the low block of Sheffield United. But at the same time the players were committed to the team and chasing the opponent and trying to get the ball back as soon as possible and not give the option to Sheffield United to create chances. But in the second half, I think with the things we changed the team found better solutions.”

Palmer has now scored six goals for Chelsea and has comfortably made the biggest impact of the players who arrived in the summer transfer window.

Chelsea last secured back-to-back League victories at Stamford Bridge with a victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in October last year and Pochettino will hope successive home wins against Brighton and Sheffield United might point towards a recovery of sorts in front of their own fans.

Bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, under returning manager Chris Wilder, were every bit as stubborn and well drilled as Pochettino would have expected.

But the lack of threat from the visitors was summed up by the fact that Chelsea’s stand-in goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic was not tested until the 70th minute on his full debut, when the Blades were already two goals behind. Petrovic saved a Gustavo Hamer free-kick low to his left.

Wilder blamed the defeat on the “naivety” of his young players to chase the game in a “mad” opening spell of the second half, but gathered his players in a huddle on the Stamford Bridge pitch at the end of the game to make sure heads do not drop.

“There was a little fat kid in the middle [of the huddle], the one with the black jacket who was barking - it was me,” said Wilder. “That’s it [a rallying call], definitely. We’ve bought down 3000 supporters on a difficult day in and around Christmas, and they’ve stayed to the end.

“I don’t like it when one player goes off to clap the supporters on their own. If we’re going to clap, we all clap together. That’s important to me and it was important they quickly got that message because for a big period we were in the game and fighting our way against an outstanding manager and some excellent individuals.”

Palmer had barely threatened in the first half from a central position, but he was instantly brighter after being moved out to the right at the break. He gave Wilder’s team a warning in the 49th minute by driving into the penalty area and putting a defender on his backside with a dummy before his shot was deflected wide.

Five minutes later, Palmer opened the scoring after finding Sterling and then continuing into the box to turn his team-mate’s cross into the net.

The pair were involved again as Chelsea effectively sealed all three points just after the hour mark. This time, Palmer played the ball into Sterling, Sheffield United failed to clear and the 21-year-old crossed for Jackson to score, following a mistake from goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.

Pochettino will be delighted that his change paid off, but he surely won’t be shifting Palmer back into the middle any time soon.

Marc Cucurella has revealed on social media that he has undergone surgery. The left-back suffered an injury against Everton and is expected to be out until February.