Chelsea pulled off a big win at Stamford Bridge as they defeated their London rivals – Tottenham Hotspurs 2-0 on the night. Goals from Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson meant that the Blues would go on to grab a comfortable win against their North London counterparts. The two-time UCL winners dominated the game in the first half and made plenty of big plays to put pressure on their opponents. However, Chelsea was once again wasteful in front of the goal and missed a few chances, before finding the opener in the 24th minute through a Conor Gallagher cross.
Spurs started pulling things back in the second half, but they were not able to pose a lot of threat due to the brilliant defending from the Chelsea players. The Blues had 14 squad players out due to injury and this forced them to deploy their academy players on the bench. Cesare Casadei, Josh Acheampong and Jimi Tauriainen were the names that were called out by the coach to help the team get over the line. The three of them put in brilliant shifts in the limited time to carry Chelsea to a memorable win at home.
A win against Tottenham has helped Chelsea get to eighth position on the table. They are just three points behind Newcastle and three points behind Manchester United, who are placed sixth and seventh on the table respectively. If the Blues manage to do a good job in the next four games, they can certainly make a push for a place in Europe.
Does Mauricio Pochettino deserve another year at Chelsea?
Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment at Chelsea raised a lot of questions in the minds of the fans, but they were supportive of the decision as they wanted stability in the club. Although things looked great for them in the preseason, the team failed to replicate any of their performances from there and kept dropping points against lower-ranked opposition. This frustrated the fans and led to them even chanting Jose Mourinho’s name in the stadium.
Looking at the Chelsea season, there haven’t been a lot of things to celebrate about. They made it to the Carabao Cup Finals and also reached the Semis of the FA Cup. Their league form has not been great and that has led to them staying in the lower half of the table. However, over the past few weeks, Chelsea has managed to pull some good results, with the exception of the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal.
They are now very well in contention for a place in Europe and that gives Mauricio Pochettino a chance to fight for his managerial position at the club. The 52-year-old was tasked with the responsibility of bringing European football back to the club and if he manages to do that, Todd Boehly and Co. might have to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Why is giving Poch another year a wise decision?
The team have been hampered by injuries throughout the season. Pochettino’s tactics have been questionable at times, but giving him time would be the smarter choice as the club looks far from winning any major trophy soon.
The players in the current team are young and need some time to adapt to the Premier League. If Poch can lead them into Europe, he definitely could turn some more things around next season, which happens to be the last year on his contract. The club can then decide about his future as it would then give them a proper sample size of his ability to manage a club like Chelsea.
