Mauricio Pochettino’s struggles as Chelsea manager continue with the club’s latest defeat at home to Aston Villa.
Chelsea are languishing in 14th place on the Premier League table after six games and the ghosts of last season’s past are haunting the club’s fans.
Under former managers Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, they started well. Their troubles began a few weeks to the 2022 FIFA World Cup break in November and December and continued even under Frank Lampard, who returned as interim manager.
With the acquisition of Pochettino, a man who has been close to winning the league with Tottenham Hotspur and who had just won the league with Paris Saint-Germain in France, things looked like they were headed for the moon.
The new signings also brought some sense of positivity even though a number of the players signed did not spark much fanfare. The visible investment in the squad was impressive enough to get fans ready for a good season.
It has been six weeks and the Blues have not been able to get up and running. One win, two draws and three losses see them in the bottom half of the Premier League table. The latest loss at home to Villa has now been explained away by Pochettino as ill luck.
“In the first half I think we deserved a little bit more,” said Pochettino to journalists when asked about his full time thoughts. “We had the control of the game. Then in the second half we started on top of them but then with the red card the game changed. For 60 minutes with 11 against 11 and then the rest with 10 men, it’s two different games.
“It was a little bit unlucky. How many chances did we have like that one for Aston Villa? We blocked the shot and then the shot comes back and the second one hits the post and goes in. For us, how many times were we one-against-one with Emi Martinez. That was a little bit unlucky also, but that happened.
“In this situation we need to accept the reality, but it was a little bit unlucky because of how many chances they created, when you take off the set-pieces. It wasn’t many. With 10 men we were forcing them to go back and we created chances. That is the situation.”
The Argentine manager knows that his days are numbered in the dugout of Stamford Bridge. Many are predicting an October exit for the former Espanyol boss.
Chelsea face Fulham at Craven Cottage in midweek next.
