Chelsea lost 1-0 to Championship side Middlesbrough in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday night.
Raheem Sterling was named in the leading role upfront for the Blues, who had no striker in the starting line-up while Enzo Fernandez also earned a recall in the midfield.
These two sides last met in the FA up a couple years ago, with the Blue registering a 2-0 win at the Riverside, while the London side have also not conceded in their last nine meetings against Boro.
After a quiet start, Chelsea should have broken the deadlock in the 30th minute when Jonny Howson's poor pass sent Cole Palmer through on goal but with only goalkeeper Tom Glover to beat, the midfielder fired wide.
Eight minutes later, the home side broke the deadlock when Hayden Hackney applied a composed finish at the near post after some good work by Isaiah Jones down the right flank.
Pochettino responded with a double change in the second half, as Fernandez and Noni Madueke made way for Armando Broja and Mikhail Mudryk as they looked to get back on level terms in the tie.
The Championship outfit were pinned back in their own half for the remainder of the second half as the Blues pushed for a leveller and they did well to frustrate their opponents in an around the 18-yard area.
That proved to be the trend for the remainder of the second half, as Pochettino's charges let themselves down with their end product in the final third and will now have it all to do in the second leg in two weeks.
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