08 February 2024 , 09:19
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Mauricio Pochettino has revealed Enzo Fernandez's passionate celebration in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Aston Villa was a response to the abuse he has received on social media.
Fernandez scored a brilliant free-kick to put Chelsea 3-0 up and celebrated by taking off his shirt, pointing to himself and the pitch and then displaying his shirt to the travelling Blues supporters.
There were some suggestions the celebration was a response to reports claiming the midfielder was considering leaving Stamford Bridge, but Pochettino felt it was a reaction to the abuse that prompted both Fernandez and Moises Caicedo to delete their Twitter accounts after Chelsea's 4-1 defeat to Liverpool.
While Fernandez's account has since been restored, Caicedo's remains deactivated and when Pochettino was asked about the celebration after the Villa match, he explained: "Look, today we are living in an era where it is easy to abuse, you know?
"To the people, to the public people. It's normal that the players are human, not robots, and it's so easy today to abuse. I think we need to understand that we are playing football, you know? Of course this type of situation makes us angry, situations that are completely unfair.
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"Today, Enzo showed why he's here and he showed his quality. But we didn't have any doubts about him, or about Caicedo or about different players, young players that arrived here with expectation to win titles and to score with every single touch!
"He is a world champion player. Look, when he signed one year ago, he arrived after nearly two years with no holidays, no rest, with the pressure, still young, different environment, different language, different culture, a team that needs time to build.
Fernandez held his shirt up after scoring a free-kick in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Villa (Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)"All of these types of circumstance, you need time. I don't want to annoy the people. For me, it's not an excuse. I want to be here because I really believe in the project, I really believe in the player. But please, stop to create expectation that does match to the reality and help the players that are here to try and build something.
"Of course, if that happens again, we will be there to help. It does not surprise me because Enzo has the quality, not only to score this type of goal, but to perform in the way today he performed."
Fernandez also posted a pointed message on social media, writing: "THIS IS CHELSEA. Thank you for all the fans who travelled for the support, you are amazing. We are all TOGETHER".