Real Madrid fans had to wait for Zidane to shine, so lay off our boys!

Mauricio Pochettino has referred to Zinedine Zidane's early struggles at Real Madrid as an example to explain to his Chelsea squad that adaptation takes time.

The Blues had a disappointing start to the season, winning just one of their first four league games, leading to questions about their significant investment in the transfer market.

Speaking ahead of the Bournemouth game, Pochettino acknowledged the high expectations at Chelsea and used Zidane's experience at Real Madrid as a reminder to his young squad that adaptation and success can take time.

"We now have a young squad, players that are good investments for the club. We need to know that they are young and need to adapt and the circumstances and stay calm. It is not fair to assess after one games, two games, three games and say he is not performing. I always use the same example; Real Madrid paid 70 or 80 million for a player named Zinedine Zidane. He was an amazing player but after six months, you can ask the fans at the Bernabeu, and they were saying; 'oh, what have we bought?' He started to perform after seven or eight months. Zinedine Zidane was 26 or 27. When you buy players who are 20 or 21 you have to be careful."

The Argentine tried to ease the pressure on his young squad but the way football works leaves him and his players with little time to start getting points on the board.

"They are not machines. They need to settle with all the circumstances that happened in the last few months. We need to give time."

The Gunners can do lots of things, but they can't seem to get a win at Goodison Park

Pochettino acknowledges the high expectations at Chelsea, where people expect to win trophies and perform well. He believes that adaptation takes time. He believes they deserved more from their recent games against Liverpool and West Ham and sees positive signs in their performance.

"There's a bad feeling because of the result and another feeling because the process is in a good way. We need to recover the injured players and then for sure we will be in a good way and it will be tough to play against us."

Bournemouth's Adam Smith and Marcus Tavernier are set to make their first appearances of the season after recovering from injuries. For the visitors, Romeo Lavia is sidelined with an ankle injury, while Reece James, Armando Broja, and Benoit Badiashile are nearing returns but won't be available.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 5

Saturday

Wolves - Liverpool 1-3 (1-0)

/Hwang 7 - Gakpo 55, Robertson 85, Bueno 90+1/

Aston Villa - Crystal Palace 3-1 (0-0)

/Duran 87, Luiz 90+8 pen, Bailey 90+11 - Edouard 47/

Fulham - Luton 1-0 (0-0)

/Vinicius 65/

Man Utd - Brighton 1-3 (0-1)

/Mejbri 73 - Welbeck 20, Gross 53, Pedro 71/

Tottenham - Sheffield Utd 2-1 (0-0)

/Richarlison 90+8, Kulusevski 90+10 - Hamer 73/

West Ham - Man City 1-3 (1-0)

/Warde-Prowse - Doku 46, Bernardo Silva, Haaland/

Newcastle - Brentford 1-0 (0-0)

/Wilson 64 pen/

Sunday

16.00: (4.60) Bournemouth (3.60) Chelsea (1.80)

18.30: (6.25) Everton (4.20) Arsenal (1.52)

Monday

21.45: (2.30) Nott.Forest (3.45) Burnley (3.30)

***odds are subject to change