Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino bemoaned a familiar lack of cutting edge after his team lost the first leg of their League Cup semi-final 1-0 to Championship side Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Tuesday.

Hayden Hackney scored the only goal on 38 minutes as Pochettino’s expensively assembled array of stars again failed to perform away from home.

Chelsea have lost five of their last six away games and 21 times on the road since the beginning of last season — the most of any Premier League team.

The Blues must turn the tie around when the sides meet again at Stamford Bridge on January 23 to avoid heaping more pressure on Pochettino’s position during a disappointing first season in charge for the Argentine.

“If we assess the performance overall we were the better side, had clear chances, but we didn’t score and weren’t clinical,” said Pochettino. “It happened a lot this season.”

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