‘He will kill me’ - Pochettino says Chelsea owner Todd Boehly won’t accept line-up change to cope match schedule

Chelsea bottled a two-goal lead against Arsenal in the London derby on Saturday at Stamford Bridge.

After the game Pochettino spoke about the players in his team, insisting that some of them are top priority to start every game.

The Chelsea manager has access to a vast skill pool when deciding on his starting lineup, but a few players stand out as untouchables.

The Blues manager claimed that Todd Boehly, the owner of Chelsea, would "murder" him if he didn't start their high-profile acquisitions.

The Argentine manager acknowledged that despite Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo's fatigue from the international break, he felt compelled to start them in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

He said as reported by the Sun, “It’s crazy for players to come back from South America on Wednesday and play on Saturday. Enzo and Caicedo were tired.

“But if I say: ‘OK, I’m going to give them a rest and not play’… you [the media] will kill me, for sure - and then the owner also.”

The Chelsea midfielders travelled with their respective national teams over the break and took part in both matches.

However, given that the American manager spent a total of £222,000,000 to sign the players, it makes sense that Boehly would like to see the pair competing for the club.

Chelsea's late collapse against their London rivals, in which they threw away a two-goal lead, could be explained in part by a lack of energy in the second half.

The Blues were cruising to win with a 2-0 lead but Declan Rice capitalised on a careless error by Robert Sanchez to snag a goal for Arsenal.

Leandro Trossard then appeared at the back post in the last seconds of the match and snatched a point for the Gunners to carry back to North London.