Mauricio Pochettino

Sterling, on the verge of missing a very clear scoring chance for Chelsea, when the match against Wolverhampton was 0-0… – Credits: @TV Capture

Chelsea, a great team that is still in low times, experienced a new disappointment this Sunday by losing 2-1 at Wolverhampton, in the last match of the 18th day of the Premier League. With this eighth defeat of the league season, Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino is left in a delicate situation. His team is tenth in the table with 22 points, 18 points behind the leader Arsenal and 17 from the podium, which is completed by Liverpool (2nd) and Aston Villa (3rd).

In this Sunday’s match, the only one on the English league schedule, the ‘Wolves’ opened the scoring thanks to the Gabonese Mario Lemina, who scored with a header from a corner kick taken by the Spanish Pablo Sarabia, in the 51st minute. Matt Doherty, in the area, signed Wolverhampton’s second already at 90+3. The Frenchman Christopher Nkunku, who had entered the game in the 58th minute, pulled one back for Chelsea at 90+6, scoring with a header after a cross from Raheem Sterling, but there was no time for the Londoners to avoid defeat. Chelsea paid dearly for their mistakes in the first half, in which they had a high number of opportunities, but without aim.

Pochettino speaks with Lesley Ugochukwu: the coach does not find solutions – Credits: @Rui Vieira

”We are very disappointed because I think we deserved much more. “This competition hurts you when you are not clinical enough,” Pochettino told Sky Sports. ”We are a young team. We have players who are in this league for the first time and need to adapt,” he noted. It is Chelsea’s fourth defeat in its last six games in the Premier League, a terrible balance for a team that is unable to get back on track and that is light years away from the level that allowed it to win the Champions League in 2021.

Chelsea had two very clear chances during the game, the first at 31 minutes into the first half through Raheem Sterling who missed an incredible one-on-one when he had two teammates at his side and in the second half, at 18′, the Portuguese Toti saved a shot from Frenchman Christopher Nkunku on the line that could have been 1-1.

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The goal that Sterling missed with the game 0-0

Chelsea, now owned by Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital group, has spent around 900 million pounds (1,034 million euros) on signing players in the last three transfer windows. In the last European summer he made the most expensive move in the history of the Premier League: he brought in the Ecuadorian Moisés Caicedo – from Brighton – for 133 million euros. Just six months earlier he had bought Enzo Fernández, new world champion with Argentina, for 121 million euros, from Benfica (Portugal).

Enzo Fernández watched the match from the audience – Credits: @TV Capture

Precisely Fernández, called to be the axis of the team, watched the game this afternoon from the audience, due to being injured. On Wednesday he asked to leave during the first half in the League Cup match against Newcastle – which Chelsea won. He has been suffering from pubalgia for weeks, and for now he has not been able to fully recover. In fact, his teammates consoled him after Wednesday’s victory, while he remained glassy-eyed.

The hiring of Pochettino has not yet provoked the reaction that was expected, after the chaotic previous season in terms of coaches. Boehly, who bought the club due to the obligation to sell that fell on Roman Abramovich due to the invasion of Ukraine, brought in four technical directors during the 2022/23 season: Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard.

Twelfth in the previous season, Chelsea was left out of all European cups. His efforts and motivations are concentrated in the Premier League. What has been achieved so far is very little. Taking into account Boehly’s impatience in an activity, football, in which he invests for the first time and is unaware of its dynamics, is Pochettino on the line, even though he has a contract until June 2025? ?

This Sunday’s match in Wolverhampton had been preceded by some controversy due to the protest of sectors of the fans and some protagonists of the duel when it was played on Christmas Eve. He had not played in the Premier League on December 24 since 1995. Pochettino himself had protested for personal reasons: “I am not happy because the 23rd is the anniversary with my wife and the 24th is an important date at night for Argentines. Neither the fans are happy with this decision nor am I happy with it.” And he continued: “We are going to have to train on the 25th. We can’t stop because we have another game on the 27th. I’m not going to complain, but (Crystal) Palace played on Thursday against Brighton. There is a difference in recovery. The organization should improve because it is not fair.”

The following day, the nineteenth, will be the last of the first round in the English championship and will be played from Tuesday to Thursday. On Tuesday, on the traditional ‘Boxing Day’ of December 26, Liverpool travel to Burnley’s field and Aston Villa visit Manchester United that same day. Leader Arsenal, which has one point more than Liverpool and Aston Villa, will host West Ham (6th) on Thursday. Manchester City (5th), recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where they won the Club World Cup on Friday, beating Brazilian Fluminense 4-0 in the final, play on Wednesday at Everton’s field (16th). That same day, the Chelsea and Pochettino players will test themselves in front of their own audience, at the Stamford Bridge stadium, where they will host Crystal Palace, another London team.

Conor Gallagher, the gesture that illustrates this Chelsea moment – Credits: @Rui Vieira

2023-12-24 20:41:30
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