Mauricio Pochettino addresses Thiago Silva approaching angry travelling Chelsea fans following terrible Carabao Cup defeat to Middlesbrough

The away end at the Riverside Stadium had absolutely nothing to cheer about on Tuesday night as the Blues pulled out another terrible performance. Hayden Hackney's first-half effort was the decider as the travelling supporters were again treated to another underwhelming display from Chelsea's forwards. But it was Blues veteran Silva who confronted them at the full-time whistle, as he appeared to apologise to fans after an initially heated-looking altercation.

The Blues boss didn't see the interaction but acknowledged fans' frustrations, telling Sky Sports after the match: "I didn’t see. I cannot say anything about that. We understand why our fans would be disappointed by that, but there’s still 90 minutes to play."

It is not the first time Silva - who has won almost everything at club level - has publicly shown his displeasure at Chelsea's shortcomings this season. After a narrow 3-2 win over Luton at the end of December, which saw the Blues almost throw away a three-goal lead in the last minutes, Silva appeared desolate and angrily pushed TV cameras out of his face. He joked off his actions after that match, although it seems unlikely spirits will be high anywhere in the Chelsea camp right now.

Middlesbrough are the first non-top-tier side to beat Chelsea across any domestic cup competition since Bradford won 4-2 at Stamford Bridge in January 2015, ending a 28-game streak for the Blues.

If the pressure wasn't on Pochettino before, it certainly is now. A 4-0 scoreline flattered the Blues against Preston on the weekend, and they just about scraped three points at Kenilworth Road before that. All eyes will be on Chelsea's Premier League clash at home to Fulham on Saturday, before the Carabao Cup return fixture in two weeks' time.