After an international break where it felt like they could be winding up for a big swing at a successful end to the season, Chelsea returned to action against Burnley on Saturday and totally missed their target.
The game was another classic step back, another textbook mangled performance full of missed chances and defensive lapses. It reopened all the wounds that were healing, and placed a monster question mark right back over manager Mauricio Pochettino’s head.
Most painfully, it reminded us all of this time last year, when we had to endure the humiliation of playing out the final portion of the season with nothing to play for, bad results piling on bad results and the mood getting worse and worse in the stadium.
The Athletic ran the numbers to compare Graham Potter, who lasted 31 games in charge of Chelsea last year. Pochettino, boosted by his cup runs, has managed 40 already.
The Argentine has a 47.5% win rate to Potter’s 38.71%. So why does it feel like things aren’t getting any better? The answer probably lies in the goals conceded column. After a decent start to the season, our defensive shape has collapsed, and a nervy back line produces errors every week, no matter who Pochettino picks.
We’ve conceded 2 goals in our last 5 games, and our goals against per game has spiralled to 1.43 – that’s a phenomenal jump from Potter’s slow and steady 1.
To make things worse, there isn’t even an immediate fix to that problem. Most fans are happier with Djordje Petrovic in the team and Thiago Silva out of it, yet we’re still leaking goals.
A match like Burnley is only a “step backward” (as you put it), if the boys learn nothing from it. Given Poch’s post-match reaction I seriously doubt that that will be a problem. Unlike the fan base, he’s always had a “growth mindset” and that’s why we have seen progress this year despite the inconsistency.