'I am desperate': Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino opens up on why he wants to win a trophy at Chelsea

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he's desperate to win the EFL Carabao Cup after guiding his side to Wembley against Championship side Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

The Argentinian won three trophies at PSG but has never won any on English soil despite reaching the League Cup and Champions League final while he was manager at Tottenham for five years. Asked if he was looking to put that right this time, he said: "Yes, I am desperate to win a title here. We won in Paris, three trophies and we want to win here. I am desperate to win here, of course. That is a headline."

They will play either Liverpool or Fulham at Wembley on 25 February - the first cup final Chelsea have reached since an investing consortium named BlueCo, co-led by Clearlake and Todd Boehly acquired the club in May 2022.

Pochettino added it was important for a club like Chelsea under new ownership to get back to winning big things after what has been a tough start for everyone. He concluded: "Yes, I think this is really important for us, of course. We are going to have Fulham or Liverpool – two amazing teams so it is going to be difficult. But now we need to believe that we can win. But I think it's an important step for us because of the confidence and belief in ourselves and then that is going to help because of the motivation.

"So many players are close to coming back to the team. Maybe they are going to look tomorrow and want to train because they see the final is so close."

Chelsea will have little time to celebrate as they face Aston Villa on Friday night for another exciting FA Cup fourth-round game.