Mauricio Pochettino makes damning admission about Chelsea's Carabao Cup final extra-time intent as late Liverpool winner ruins penalty plan

Liverpool bagged the Carabao Cup title on Sunday at Wembley courtesy of Virgil van Dijk's late strike in extra-time. Chelsea boss Pochettino was visually disappointed after the match and later admitted that his players looked jaded on the pitch and were trying to take the game to the tie-breaker.

Speaking to reporters after the match, the Argentine coach said, "The players started to lose their energy. [Ben Chilwell] Chilly felt really, really tired. [Conor] Gallagher, after five minutes, we needed to change. The team felt maybe penalties would be good for us. The effort was massive."

The former Tottenham Hotspur manager did not have the ideal start to his journey with the Blues as the club struggled to find form in the first half of the season. While they have somewhat improved since the turn of the year, the west London side still find themselves 11th in the league.

Pochettino's side now aim to make progress in the FA Cup as they will next take on Leeds United in a fifth-round clash on Wednesday.