Mauricio Pochettino is using crossbar challenge to boost Mykhailo Mudryk's confidence - but keeps beating him

Mauricio Pochettino is using the crossbar challenge to boost Mykhailo Mudryk’s confidence, but it’s not going entirely to plan.

The Ukraine international joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in January in a deal worth up to £89million but has failed to find the net in his first 22 appearances for the club.

Mudryk had scored 10 goals in 18 appearances for Shakhtar during the first half of last season prior to sealing the Premier League transfer.

And Pochettino admitted he had come up with an ingenious way of boosting the 22-year-old’s confidence ahead of the encounter.

Pochetinno said: "With Mudryk, I like to play sometimes to [hit] the crossbar from outside the box.

"He said to me, 'I don't want to play anymore with you because you always win.' I said 'yes, because I have the belief, and the balance between belief and quality I know very well because I'm 50 years old. You're still young and you need to know yourself’.

"Today [Tuesday] was the first day we drew because I always won. Now you start to believe in yourself, believe in your quality. If not, it's difficult to balance belief and quality."

Mudryk, who was close to joining Arsenal before Chelsea hijacked the move last winter, has featured in five of the Blues' six league games this season, starting on two occasions.

Speaking before Chelsea’s Carabao Cup encounter against Brighton at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino said: "The problem is we can't buy confidence at the supermarket.

"It's about time. You know how our brains work - it's about little by little, creating situations where we can provide the trust and the confidence and the belief.

"That is one aspect you work on, the psychology of the player, and that can make the difference to provide the players with confidence to touch the ball and score. It's a small example."

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Topics: Mykhailo Mudryk, Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.