Chelsea continued their good run of form on Thursday night with a comprehensive win over rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have won four, drawn three and lost just one of their last eight matches in the Premier League. Only four teams are in better form over that period.
Trevoh Chalobah scored his first goal of the season with a fine looping header in the first half, before Nicolas Jackson added a second, heading home after Cole Palmer’s free-kick had come back off the crossbar. And Chelsea were rarely threatened by their London rivals across 90 minutes.
The Blues moved up to eighth in the table and with four games to go are just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United. If Mauricio Pochettino could guide his team into sixth place come the end of the campaign, it would represent a huge turnaround in fortune given how the season had been panning out.
Pochettino has come under increasing pressure this year, with inconsistent form leading to almost constant speculation around his future at the club less than a year after taking over. He has had to deal with a ridiculous injury list, not to mention the Blues have one of the youngest squads in the league too.
And after their win over Spurs, Pochettino sent a pointed message to owner Todd Boehly and the Chelsea board when it comes to his future as the head coach. He said: “You need to have time. But it’s not my decision.”
Pochettino also harked back to when he was Tottenham boss in 2016 and that infamous Battle of the Bridge game that stopped Spurs having a chance at winning the league, handing the title to Leicester City instead.
He added: “Yesterday, the media asked me about the Battle of the Bridge eight years ago. You see the squad. [Branislav] Ivanovic, [Gary] Cahill, John Terry. You see in the table they finished 10th with 50 points. They had [Eden] Hazard, Willian, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, [Nemanja] Matic.
“They were the big players and they proved they can fight. With this team with young guys, of course, I am going to take the responsibility. But at the same time, we know the circumstances. I want to say enough is enough. All managers need time to translate their philosophy more with the team.
“It’s difficult to see every single week that I am under scrutiny and judgement. But it’s not my decision to be here or not to be here.”
