Chelsea Have Hit ‘Bottom’ In One Key Area – Pochettino 

Mauricio Pochettino has acknowledged that Chelsea’s terrible Premier League record in 2023–24 has left them “bottom” in one important area.

Since the Argentine took over in the summer, the west London team has struggled with consistency despite excellent home performances against championship contenders like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City. Although Pochettino acknowledges his players lack the competitive edge required to succeed in the Premier League, he also maintains that the Blues’ performances haven’t been all that poor.

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Speaking to the official Chelsea website, Pochettino said: “The performance from the beginning of the season is not bad. We could have said it’s very good, but in terms of competing we are at the bottom. That is why we are not in a better position in the table. Football is about having all the quality and knowledge in your set-ups, the way you press and build from the back, and so on. Then at some point during the 90 minutes, you need to compete: that is the moment you need to show you can play another [style of] football. We need to improve there.”

Fans expect Chelsea to at least be challenging for European football, given that the club has spent over £1 billion on players since Todd Boehly took ownership in 2022. It appears the Blues will have to wait at least another year to make a comeback to the top level, as Pochettino has admitted they are falling well short of their pre-season goals. That hasn’t been the case, though, and Champions League qualification already seems unlikely in 2023–2024.

“We are so far away from our targets,” Pochettino added. “Our target was to be at the top, even if nobody believed it. Now we are fighting for different things. Because of our history the demand is to be at the top, but at the moment, being realistic, we need to increase the way we compete if we want to win more games than we lose.”

Last weekend, Chelsea lost their 19th Premier League match in 2023 to Wolves, which ties them for the most losses in the English top flight with Fulham, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest.