Chelsea: How the Blues have improved under Mauricio Pochettino

The future of Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino may be undecided, but the Argentine manager’s recent upswing in West London is doing his chances of retaining the job no harm. 

Pochettino’s Blues have won three Premier League games on the trot since coming from 2-0 down at Aston Villa to draw at the backend of April, thus giving credibility to the club's late-season push for a top-six berth.

However, the Blues’ improvement in results did not start with the 2-0 win over cross-town rivals Tottenham Hotspur on May 2, with Opta revealing the club's steady growth since the backend of 2023.

Apart from the current top three — Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool — no club has outdone Chelsea’s 35 points since gameweek 19. Pep Guardiola’s team have secured 48, the Gunners have accrued 43 and Jurgen Klopp's team have claimed 39 points in that period. In the calendar year 2024, Chelsea (29 points ) rank below Man City (45), Arsenal (43) and Liverpool (36). 

Nevertheless, fans of the West London club will point to the club's wretched defensive record under Pochettino as a major worry. The Blues have conceded 30 goals in 2024 alone, eight more than Liverpool (22), 22 higher than Arteta's Gunners (eight) and 18 more than Guardiola's team (12). 

Considering fixtures since Boxing Day, that figure rises to 33 goals against Chelsea, with Arsenal (12), City (13) and Liverpool (22) having significantly superior defensive statistics. 

Chelsea’s 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday took them level on points with Newcastle United, with the Magpies edging that tussle on goal difference. 

Both sides have two games to go in 2023-24, and Pochettino’s men travel to Brighton in this season’s penultimate league fixture on Wednesday. 

The Blues conclude the campaign with a home game against Bournemouth at Stamford Bride on May 19.