Chelsea missed out on a place in the FA Cup final as Mauricio Pochettino was left to rue his side’s lack of a clinical edge against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Blues failed to convert any of their ten chances against the holders at Wembley as they fell to a late Bernardo Silva goal.
The Portuguese midfielder scored Man City‘s one big chance of the game, while Nicolas Jackson missed Chelsea‘s best opportunity to score just after the interval.
“It is so easy to explain,” Pochettino told BBC One. “We conceded in a moment you should not concede. We were not capable of being clinical in front of goal, we had many chances but we did not score.
“I think in the game we were a little bit better and deserved more, but it is not about deserving it, it is about being clinical and we were not today.”
Chelsea’s profligacy in front of goal is a problem that has plagued the side for much of the season, although they did beat Luton Town 6-0 in the Premier League on Monday night.
“I think last Monday we scored six but today we were not capable of scoring even with having maybe more chances and more clear chances to score.”
Asked if Saturday’s defeat was emblematic of their season’s issues as a whole, Pochettino responded: “No, I think today we were playing a very good team in Manchester City. It wasn’t easy but we were capable of playing a very good game, competing really well.
“Looking forward we want to build on this, sometimes you have these sorts of games on your journey and the important thing is to take the positives from it.”
Elimination from the FA Cup blocks one potential route to Europe for Chelsea, who will now have to prioritise finishing inside the top seven of the Premier League table.
“The focus is on the game next Tuesday, there is not too many games to recover and it is going to be another tough game,” said Pochettino.
“Of course we need to win in a positive way to try to win more league games and get close to the position of being in Europe.”
