4 months ago
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History may be repeating itself for Mauricio Pochettino.
Enzo Fernandez' stunning free-kick in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Aston Villa secured a priceless victory for the Blues to send them through to fifth round of the FA Cup.
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The result eased the pressure on manager Pochettino, as first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson gave the Londoners a shock early lead over high-flying Villa.
Fernandez sealed the tie with an outrageous 30-yard effort in the 54th minute, meaning that Moussa Diaby's late strike would only be a consolation for The Villans.
And the Argentine's brilliant set-piece will have brought back memories for Pochettino of another free-kick winner at Villa Park which also helped to save his skin, this time from Harry Kane.
In November 2014, six months into his reign at Tottenham, the now Blues boss faced calls to be sacked as his Spurs team sat 11th in the table when they took on the Villains.
Having trailed by a goal for the majority of the game, the north London side staged a late come-back, with the England star finding the net from a dead ball on 90 minutes to steal the three points.
Speaking in 2017, Pochettino admitted that Kane's strike that day may well have kept him in the job at Spurs: "For me, that goal was an amazing goal because it meant for us, for everyone, the possibility to stay.
"We were a little bit under pressure because the team were playing well, but not winning games."
He continued: “That goal allowed us to carry on working and try to change the club.”
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The result proved to be a turning point for Pochettino, as he guided the club to a fifth-place finish that season, before transforming Spurs into a side that was once again able to challenge for trophies.
At the time however, the former PSG manager gave much less away on the long-term importance of the victory for him personally, instead heaping praise on the now Bayern Munich talisman.
Commenting on the then 21-year-old's heroics, he said: "He (Kane) is an important player. It was a great goal, and a happy goal for him and the team.”
Although he did stress that the win was crucial in the project he was hoping to build in N17, saying: "The three points are very important for us.
"In football it can change a lot. We know the situation, we need to build something special and in that process you need time and to be strong."
Pochettino's comments after the 2014 fixture were incredibly similar to his reaction to his side's most recent victory over the Villans, as he spoke to talkSPORT.
The 51-year-old explained that he was 'delighted' with the result, before suggesting that he did not feel his job was under threat as he declared himself 'so pleased, but not for me, for the players'.
The Chelsea boss then urged supporters to give his newly-assembled group of players time to adapt to his demands, much like his words on Spurs almost a decade ago.
He said: “I think people need to realise that this is a different Chelsea, the team need different support.
“With time, I think we are going build a very good team, very competitive, to challenge for the big things."
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When asked about goalscorer Fernandez' role in the win, Pochettino hailed the World Cup winner's performance: "Today, Enzo showed why he’s here and he showed his quality.
"But we didn't have any doubts about him."
On the free-kick itself, he offered his thoughts on his fellow countryman's goal celebration, who took his shirt off and held his name and number to the travelling crowd.
Explaining that he felt it was in response to the online abuse Fernandez has suffered, with fans questioning his club record £106.9million price-tag, Pochettino sympathised with the player.
He remarked: “Look, today we are living in an era where it is easy to abuse.
“Of course this type of situation makes us angry, situations that are completely unfair.”
Chelsea fans will be hoping that Fernandez' moment of brilliance will have a similar effect to Kane's memorable strike in transforming the fortunes of another Pochettino side.
