Mauricio Pochettino has revealed the state of the Chelsea players after losing the Carabao Cup final.
The Blues had several clearcut chances to win the game in normal time, but ended up losing the game in extra time.
Mauricio Pochettino has now revealed how he was able to turn that pain into positive energy, and how the Chelsea players are learning to understand each other.
“Maybe yes,” he admitted. “We feel very disappointed. We had faith to win, we were so close. After 90 minutes we were the better side. The last 15, 20 minutes we created many big chances to score and win the game.
“Then the energy dropped and we didn’t keep the energy after 90 minutes. That’s why we lost the game. We’re all really disappointed because we put in too much energy to try to win. I think we deserved it.
“We met after the game (Sunday), in a different place away from Wembley. The players started to feel the good spirit. (They were) disappointed and (it was) painful.
“But Monday and Tuesday we were very open. All the players wanted to play. Some were tired with some problems, but everyone wanted to play against Leeds. That speaks highly about the squad.
“They are learning, to compete all together, to feel each other, to know how they behave in this level when it’s a final, with not too much experience.
“They start to understand each other, that’s the most important thing. After seven or eight months, we already know the profile of the players, how they behave.
“But it’s important for them to know each other, to know how they will react under high pressure and high stress.”