"He was frustrated because Liverpool won another title" -  Mauricio Pochettino once again slams Gary Neville for 'billion-pound bottle jobs' jibe 

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has hit out at Gary Neville once again for his 'billion-pound bottle jobs' comment after the Carabao Cup final last weekend.

The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat as Liverpool lifted their first trophy of the season at Wembley. During commentary duty for Sky Sports, Neville laid into Pochettino's side for their display and made the aforementioned comment.

The Argentine manager defended his side's performance, insisting Neville's assessment was rather hash. Pochettino brought up the topic once again after Chelsea's 3-2 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup yesterday (February 28).

Speaking after the game, he told ITV (via Metro):

"I think if you are talking about my friend Gary [Neville], I think he was frustrated because Liverpool won another title. That is the truth. I think it’s not fair to accuse people in this way, with a team that’s very young."

"The expectation is massive because we are Chelsea but this team needs to build and build the confidence. The unity is starting to grow, it’s not magic, you can’t just create it."

During the post-match press conference, Pochettino added:

"Gary, my friend, what you did… his opinion is going around and around. Of course, I cannot agree with that. With all my love to Gary, it’s not fair to use these type of words. This club always fights for big things."

"It wasn't a great performance" - Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino makes honest admission after FA Cup win over Leeds

The Blues locked horns with Daniel Farke's men in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge. Mateo Joseph opened the scoring for Leeds within the first eight minutes before Nicolas Jackson's equalizer seven minutes later.

Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first goal of the calendar year later on in the first half as the west Londoners headed into half-time at 2-1. Joseph then scored his second just before the hour mark to level the score.

The game seemed to be heading toward extra time until Conor Gallagher's 90th-minute winner. Following the encounter, Pochettino was asked whether he got the result he needed.

The Chelsea boss said (via football.london):

"Yes, I think we needed this result. It wasn't a great performance. Of course, we created too little because it's a team full of confidence. Very, very, very strong team. They are doing fantastic in the Championship."

Pochettino added:

"And of course it was tough for us. When you concede after a few minutes but I think the character we showed after this situation, I think it is a thing to learn from the team. Of course, in the end, so happy because we avoided extra-time, we scored right at the end and we are in the quarter-finals, that was our objective."

With their win over Leeds, Chelsea have secured a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, to be played against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on March 16.