McBurnie strikes late to deny Chelsea and pile the pain on Pochettino

What Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino would do for just one chaos free day at work. Around the corner they turn, the one that looks from the outside to be taking them in the right direction, only to inexplicably double back.

- Sam Dalling

What Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino would do for just one chaos free day at work. Around the corner they turn, the one that looks from the outside to be taking them in the right direction, only to inexplicably double back.

So close, and yet absolutely miles away. It had looked like, despite a largely tepid performance, Noni Madueke's goal midway through the second half would be enough to secure a Chelsea win.

That, though, is not how they operate. In the third minute of stoppage time, they failed to clear their lines against an increasingly desperate Sheffield United. And that allowed Oli McBurnie to nip in and rescue a point from close range. Chelsea progress? Halted.

Initially, it seemed Chelsea would cruise to the calm, comfortable, cosy victory they craved desperately.

Pochettino is a savvy man. He knows full well that if Thursday's chaotic contest with Manchester United is, at some future point, to be viewed not just as a mere moment, but as a meaningful one, it had to be built on.

And, as opponents go for such a task, the ever-accommodating Blades would have been the pick of most managers.