FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Since Todd Boehly and BlueCo took control of Chelsea in the summer of 2022, there has been little to shout about.
The Blues ended the first season under their leadership in a lowly 12th, all the while sporting a FIFA Club World champions badge across their chests. It served as a reminder of their rapid downfall.
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After cycling through four head coaches – interim or otherwise – in 2022/23, Mauricio Pochettino was tasked with rebuilding Chelsea from pretty much the ground up heading into this season. A bloated squad was in desperate need of trimming, with a focus placed on keeping and improving the club’s younger assets.
But for much of last spring, it looked like Pochettino would head back to former club Tottenham Hotspur, who were in need of a progressive successor to Antonio Conte. Fans chanted Pochettino’s name at home games through the final stretch of the season, but Spurs didn’t even pick up the phone to their old boss.
They eventually settled on Ange Postecoglou, who had the north Londoners sitting top of the Premier League table come the autumn. When a flaky Chelsea headed to N17 in November, Pochettino seemed overawed at a first return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, perhaps still a little smitten.
Chelsea emerged as 4-1 victors on a bonkers night but that was more down to Tottenham’s collapse than their genius. But you can’t take anything away from Pochettino for their win in the reverse fixture.
Spurs‘ yearly disappointment at Stamford Bridge was a little more unexpected this time around. Their hosts have been in and out of shambles and their strong end to Sunday’s 3-2 loss against Arsenal suggested Postecoglou’s troops would carry some momentum into Thursday’s match even off the back of defeat.
In the blue corner, Chelsea had only 11 fit senior players to call upon. Pochettino put together the only adults he had and needed a perfect game out of them. He got just that.
Goals in either half from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson – both from free-kicks – ensured Chelsea raced clear of Tottenham, while they finally showed a defensive solidity that Pochettino became known for instilling during his peak years at Spurs.
In the opposite dugout, Postecoglou grew exasperated with his side’s lack of coherence, composure, and above all, personality. They shrank in the spotlight and became the latest Tottenham victims in their Stamford Bridge graveyard.
Pochettino’s job has come into question a fair bit over the course of his first season in west London, but his players have never thrown in the towel – both on the pitch and in the media – and there is a burning spirit among them that is required to make up for the talent gap in some areas. The 11 players available to the boss here, mercifully, made sense together on a football pitch and were of the right profiles needed to play his way.
When at Tottenham, Pochettino was an excellent firefighter. His sides rarely went through poor or barren runs, and if they did, he always knew how to defuse situations and spin them back into positives. He was the face of the club, even if that meant absorbing negative news and results. He sacrificed himself for the good of the team.
That selfless characteristic is on display at Chelsea and the Blues need to stick by him, if only in part due to the lack of a superior candidate available to them. Where Postecoglou’s stubbornness – particularly with Spurs’ set-piece issues – cost the visitors, Pochettino’s side found a way to win by any means necessary, fighting for every inch and never relenting.
Spurs passed on Pochettino last year in search of finding a true and spiritual successor. His initial reign unravelled when he failed to kick off a new cycle. Amid the frenzy of the Chelsea circus, he’s still finding a way to calm the storm. They’re only three points off a Europa League spot heading into the final stretch of the season despite such nonsenses along the way.
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