Mauricio Pochettino bites back at Gary Neville after the Man United legend called Chelsea ‘billion pound bottle jobs’ for losing the Carabao Cup final to Jurgen Klopp’s injury-hit Liverpool

Mauricio Pochettino has branded Gary Neville’s claims that Chelsea are “billion pound bottle jobs” unfair and urged his players to feel the pain at Wembley.

In his commentary, Neville said: “(Jurgen) Klopp’s kids won against the billion-pound blue bottle jobs” as Liverpool cruised to an extra-time victory thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s header to lift the Carabao Cup.

Chelsea have spent close to £1bn on transfer fees since the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital takeover in 2022, and in response to the former Manchester United defender’s claims, Pochettino said: “I didn’t hear what he said, but yes You compare the age of the two groups, I think it is similar.

‘I have a good relationship with Gary and I don’t know if that’s how I can take this opinion. But I respect his opinion.

“Of course, we made some changes with (Conor) Gallagher and (Ben) Chilwell in extra time, admittedly we didn’t maintain the energy of how we finished the second half.

Chelsea conceded a goal in extra time against Liverpool in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.

Neville harshly described Chelsea as “billion pound jobs” after Liverpool’s goal.

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But I sure feel proud. I feel proud of the players, I think they made a great effort. We are a young team and there is nothing to compare with Liverpool (just) because they ended up with some young players. I think it is impossible (to compare the two sides).

‘He (Neville) knows the dynamic is completely different. I think it’s not fair to speak this way, if he said that.

Pochettino also called on his stars to take the disappointment of their final defeat hard, while admitting he is running out of time to win his first trophy in England.

The 51-year-old added: “We played for a trophy, but we didn’t get it.”

‘You can’t tell me anything to make them feel better. They need to feel the pain like we do.

“We need to work harder, do better things and compete at this level against a team that for the last five or six years has been competing for great things.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk scored the final winning goal for his team in the Carabao Cup final.

Pochettino believes his Chelsea team has “a completely different dynamic” to Liverpool’s

“A little leadership on the field helps. I feel the same as the players. It is very painful.

‘I have less time to win titles, they are younger than me and they surely have time.

‘When you don’t get what you want, the effort you have made for seven or eight months always disappears very quickly.

‘That is difficult to manage. It is painful. But if we want to win, we have to keep going.”