Gary Neville warns Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea plans could be ‘destroyed’ without Ben Chilwell and Reece James

Mauricio Pochettino began his reign as Chelsea manager with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Luis Diaz’s opener was cancelled out by Axel Disasi’s equaliser before half time.

Chelsea opted to play a three-man defence with both Ben Chilwell and Reece James in advanced wing-back roles further up the pitch.

Gary Neville believes Chelsea showed signs of encouragement in their Premier League opener but warns that Pochettino will be heavily reliant on Chilwell and James.

Neville: Chilwell and James are ‘crucial’ to Pochettino’s plans

‘There’s a lot to work with, a lot of potential, and I think they’ve got the right coach to turn that potential into high-quality performances,’ Neville said on Sky Sports’ The Gary Neville Podcast.

‘What we’ve seen [on Sunday] is that Chelsea have fantastic wing-backs but they’ve both gone off, first game of the season.

‘That will destroy Pochettino’s plans. If you’re going to play wing-backs, they have to be outstanding players of high quality, who attack like wingers and defend like full-backs, and they have that.

‘But the big question mark is if those two can stay fit. Those wing-backs are crucial and if they lose them the whole thing could fall apart a little.’

Neville: Chelsea’s attack is ‘too quick’ and ‘a bit too emotional’

Neville also believes Chelsea’s attack is currently ‘too quick’ and ‘a bit too emotional’.

‘I was a bit worried about Chelsea in the first half hour. It was a change of system that came out of the blue,’ said Neville.

‘They grew in the game and that wasn’t there at the end of last season – they were disgraceful at times. They threw in the towel.

‘They were persistent and kept going [on Sunday], epitomised by the two midfielders. [Enzo] Fernandez and [Conor] Gallagher started to dominate. There is a lot to look forward to.

‘What you did see about Chelsea is the frantic nature of [Mykhailo] Mudryk, [Ian] Maatsen and [Nicolas] Jackson. They run offside, they’re too quick in their play, they aren’t cold in the box, they’re a bit too emotional, but Mauricio Pochettino will bring that to them on the training pitch.’

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