Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with his players after their Carabao Cup semifinal thrashing of Middlesbrough.

Chelsea won 6-1, so reaching the final 6-2 on aggregate.

Pochettino said: "Today we were very clinical in front of goal. We missed that in the first leg and we were disappointed. Today we were really good and I think that is the difference.

"It is really important. Sometimes we can think about the history of Chelsea and the missing players. We are young and we need to grow.

"These types of games are a good experience for young players and it is about now growing and it will help us to compete. We are building a very good team. The mentality is good. We have plenty but we need time.

"I think the performance, I was never disappointed with the performance - it was because we were not clinical. Today I think is our ninth game unbeaten and it is really good. It is a new project. We are building a team and sometimes it is normal to play worse. We played well and we didn't win but now it will be a big boost for us.

"We don't have much time to prepare for Aston Villa and also with many injuries, I think we are very happy. People need to believe and trust in us and we go to the final with the chance of winning the first trophy of the season."

On two-goal Cole Palmer, he continued: "He is a player with an amazing talent. It is a player that understands the game. He has the quality and the talent to see the situation and to read the game in another aspect.

"He can play from the right, striker or in behind the striker. We try to give him freedom because in this type of game he can find the best position to help the team.

"For me, [the best part] is when he presses and then the intuition to get the ball back. He is still young but he is doing fantastic for us."