Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea manager, has recently made a bold claim. Despite the team currently languishing in 11th place in the Premier League, he believes that his side should be sitting comfortably in fourth place if underlying data is taken into account.
Chelsea has been struggling since Pochettino took over last summer. Their recent 2-2 draw with Burnley only added to their woes and left them a staggering 16 points away from the Champions League spots. This is not what Todd Boehly would have envisioned when he spent more than £1 billion on new players since taking control of the club in 2022.
Mauricio Pochettino, Chelsea manager, said:
"The data means we're in a good way, if you look at all the data, in the table we should be in fourth position, but for different reasons, we are not there. What the data means is that we are in a good way.
In which area do we need to improve? It's things with time. We need to compete better, small details. You can only get this with experience with time playing together. It's easy to find the data when you want to kill someone. But when the data is good and reflects the team is doing well but for different reasons we're not getting the results we deserve, trust in the process."
Chelsea again failed to deliver against Burnley
The performance of some key players has been under scrutiny as well. Cole Palmer, who was brought from Manchester City for £40 million last summer, managed to score twice in the Burnley fixture. However, Mykhailo Mudryk failed to make an impact once again while Moises Caicedo - who cost a whopping £100m - was replaced by Raheem Sterling after just 73 minutes on the pitch.
Pochettino's pre-game claims about his team’s potential seemed far-fetched given these performances and led many fans to question his leadership abilities.
In recent weeks, there have been instances where fans were heard chanting Jose Mourinho's name during matches – indicating their dissatisfaction with Pochettino’s management style or tactics. However, it appears that despite this public sentiment against him, Pochettino continues to enjoy support from Chelsea’s board members.
Stats just numbers for analysis
Taking a deeper look at Chelsea's season to date, they rank 13th in total shots, ninth in shots on target, tenth in touches in the opposition box, and sixth in expected goals (xG).
These statistics seem to support Pochettino's claim that Chelsea should be higher up in the Premier League table. However, they also highlight areas where improvement is needed if Chelsea wants to climb up from their current position.
While data can provide a different perspective on Chelsea's performance this season, it doesn't change their current standing. The team needs to translate these underlying metrics into actual results on the pitch. It remains to be seen whether Pochettino can turn things around and meet fans' expectations or if a change at the helm will become inevitable.
