'They were better than us' - Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino refuses to blame officials for humbling Liverpool defeat

As Jurgen Klopp celebrated his 200th Premier League win after a 4-1 drubbing of Chelsea, just days after announcing his imminent summer exit from Anfield, Pochettino admitted that his side was outclassed in all departments and had no qualms after the Blues were denied two penalties. The big-spending visitors might have flexed their financial muscles in the transfer windows since the Todd Boehly takeover but the gulf in quality was evident on Wednesday evening at Merseyside with the league leaders.

Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "The performance wasn’t good from us. It's not a final excuse (penalty appeal). They deserved to win. They were better than us. But to talk about this, I don't want to talk about that because it's part of football. They were better than us from the first action. In this kind of game, you need to say 'well done Liverpool'. They were more at it than us.

"It was difficult for us to connect and play. We lost the ball so easily. When we say they competed better, they were better than us in the areas. In the second half of the game, at 2-0, we create a chance that (Mykhailo) Mudryk has and if we score maybe we get confidence and play better. Even if we scored and drew, then we would be disappointed because our performance wasn't great."

Pochettino warned his players to get ready for another thrashing in next month’s Carabao Cup final if they didn't pull up their socks.

"If we want to match them and compete with them in the final then we have to compete in a different way," he said.

"They were more aggressive than us. They were better than us in all areas. Of course, it is going to be different at Wembley. The feeling the players have now is good because they know if they repeat this performance it will be the same result.

“We need to improve and we need to push ourselves a little bit more. We have to learn. If we want to compete with Liverpool, one of the best teams in England for many years, we have to raise our level.”

Chelsea have succumbed to nine league defeats this season and find themselves in the 10th spot with 31 points from 22 matches. Out of the nine losses, six of them have come away from home which highlights the Blues' struggles on the road.

Pochettino has four days to spark a comeback as Chelsea are set to face Wolves next at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.