Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino admits his team needed a big result in the FA Cup.

The Blues were under pressure after losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool on Sunday.

Now they are through to the quarter finals, as they moved past Leeds United on Wednesday night.

After the victory, Pochettino stated: "Yes, I think we needed this result. It wasn't a great performance. Of course, we created too little because it's a team full of confidence. Very, very, very strong team. They are doing fantastic in the Championship.

"And of course it was tough for us. When you concede after a few minutes but I think the character we showed after this situation, I think it is a thing to learn from the team. Of course, in the end, so happy because we avoided extra-time, we scored right at the end and we are in the quarter-finals, that was our objective.

"It's always tough when you lose a final on Sunday and 72 hours or less time to recover. It's difficult. But the effort was massive again today and I want to say thank you to the players because it was a massive effort."

He then added on the importance of Conor Gallagher: "Yeah, of course, he is an important player and there is no doubt. We were talking at the beginning of the season, the contribution was fantastic for the team. I'm so happy for him.

"I said okay, don't become top scorer, don't score too much goals [smiles]. But the effort is there and the quality is there."