Before the big match between Chelsea and Man City in round 12 of the Premier League, coach Mauricio Pochettino said that VAR makes it more difficult to block players like Erling Haaland.
The clash at Stamford Bridge today is reminiscent of the confrontation between the Argentine coach and Pep Guardiola as players in 1997. At that time, Pochettino's Espanyol surprisingly defeated Guardiola's Barca 2-0 in the Catalan derby.
In that match, Pochettino and his teammates used many tricks to stop the opposing stars. At that time, Barca had Ronaldo Nazario, Luis Figo... Espanyol made the referee give Figo a red card and six other yellow cards to Barca, including cards for Guardiola and Barca assistant coach Jose Mourinho.
Haaland has scored 11 goals in the Premier League for Man City this season. Photo: Reuters
"I still remember that game, there are some videos on the internet. I did some tricks that if I did them now, I would probably get sent off. It was a great night, an unforgettable victory. Nowadays, with VAR, it would be impossible to stop Ronaldo Nazario. We were quite clever back then, there were no cameras and you could use different tactics. I'm not saying it was easier to defend back then, but now it's difficult to be a defender," Pochettino said.
"Now, attacking players like Haaland are easier to play with. They benefit from VAR. The defender has to be careful not to foul them or pull their shirt. Before, every action was like a battle. Now, to stop Haaland, the defender has to run faster, concentrate and try to anticipate what he is going to do. You have to know what to do in the box because Haaland is tall. You have to jump in front of him."
Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-1 in the previous round. That was only their fourth win of the season. Pochettino is still in the process of finalizing his squad after being appointed in the summer, having had a difficult time getting used to many new players, most of whom are young.
Chelsea are expected to face difficulties when hosting Man City this weekend. Commenting on his colleague Guardiola, Pochettino said that the Man City coach has become more formidable thanks to his accumulated experience, but he is also confident that he can develop new tactics to defeat his colleague.
Duy Doan (according to Daily Mail )
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