Mauricio Pochettino's verdict on Chelsea's Sheffield United victory after Blades "easy" claim

Mauricio Pochettino believes his Chelsea side made it "easy" for Sheffield United to defend against his side during the first half of their eventual 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. The Blades kept the Blues at bay for the first 45 minutes before second half goals from Nicolas Jackson and the influential Cole Palmer saw them return to winning ways after back-to-back league defeats.

The Blues' early display suggested something of a hangover from losses to Manchester United and Everton as they struggled to break down United, whose goalkeeper Wes Foderingham had only a couple of real bits to deal with in the first half. Pochettino's side broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second half before adding a second soon after.

Blades boss Chris Wilder spoke of an inexperience that he felt cost his side, after his players stretched the game early in the second half and gave Chelsea the space to exploit. And Pochettino, his counterpart, admitted United had frustrated the London giants in the first half, which saw the hosts enjoy 80 per cent of possession.

"I think we talked a lot during the week after Everton about needing drastic change," said Pochettino. "It was important to confirm that we are in a good way. The team in the first half was frustrated because we couldn't find a way past the low block of Sheffield United.

"We didn't show the capacity to be flexible and it was easy for them to identify our position and to block us and make us put the ball in positions that were easy for them to stop.

"The second half we were much better, we fixed things. The team started to find better possibilities to play, to link much better. Cole from the right, going into the space, started to link better with team-mates and be the player that we want to use - a playmaker."