Under-pressure Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino makes bizarre Liverpool comparison amid £10m sack claims

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has hit out at critics following his side's defeat for not going after Liverpool in the aftermath of their loss to Arsenal.

The Blues fell to their 10th league defeat of the season as Wolves earned a brilliant 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge over the weekend, condemning Pochettino's side to 11th place who now sit 20 points behind leaders Liverpool.

On the same day, Jurgen Klopp's side tasted defeat for only the third time across all competitions as Arsenal powered to a 3-1 victory at the Emirates stadium. It meant their lead at the top was reduced to two points with Manchester City and Arsenal closing in on top spot and the defeat puts an end to a brilliant unbeaten run from Liverpool.

However, the Chelsea boss spoke out ahead of his side's FA Cup replay with Aston Villa, possibly showing his frustration as he tried to put Liverpool in the limelight after their defeat, as he claimed, “When the expectation is different to the reality, it's difficult. When we lost to Liverpool, it was 'massive fail, Chelsea are so bad'. When Liverpool lost to Arsenal, I heard nothing - it was a similar result.” In the interest of his relationship with the owner Todd Boehly, he said, "I didn't hear nothing. We are all together in this. That is the most important. We are in contact with them and the sporting directors every day."

Pressure seems to be closing in on the manager, but another sacking is deemed to be unlikely at this stage, given the latest reports that the club are “concerned” that another change “could put them in danger of breaching Premier League spending rules. Pochettino has 18 months remaining on his contract and his dismissal would “cost Chelsea in excess of £10 million” and count towards profit and sustainability rules, therefore, it looks rather unlikely despite their awful run of form.

Of course, the end of this month will see Liverpool face off against Chelsea in the final of the EFL Cup and February 25 at Wembley could be the perfect opportunity for Pochettino to relieve some of the pressure on his head by defeating Liverpool, but they will have to bring a greatly-improved performance than the one we saw Anfield recently, which ended in a 4-1 victory for Klopp's side.