MAURICIO Pochettino emphatically dismissed any suggestions that Chelsea underestimated Middlesbrough ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The Premier League side were stunned by Boro at the Riverside, who ran out 1-0 winners and take a slender advantage into the second leg at Stamford Bridge thanks to Hayden Hackney's first half winner.

Pochettino said his side paid the price for being wasteful in front of goal but insisted Chelsea knew coming into the game how difficult it would be against Boro.

"No, no, no," said the Chelsea boss when asked whether his side had underestimated their Championship opponents.

"We watched the game against Aston Villa, when they made it very difficult."

Chelsea had their moments at the Riverside, particularly in the first half when Cole Palmer missed two sitters. The Londoners probed in the second half but couldn't force their way through Boro's well organised backline.

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Pochettino said: "It's difficult to talk about performance. We made some mistakes, were punished, they scored a goal then they were difficult to break down.

"We created some chances but couldn't score. We weren't clinical enough. I think that is why we lost the game. We had good chances but didn't score. That can happen.

“I am disappointed because I think we deserved a different result, but sometimes you don’t play well and you win.

“Always when you are building a team, this kind of scenario is tough because you not only need to play well, but you need to deserve and have some luck.”

"We are so disappointed but there's still 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and we'll be very positive and approach the game in two weeks very positively and thinking we can change the reality."

The second leg at Stamford Bridge takes place on Tuesday, January 23.