In spite of recent criticism, evidence shows that Mauricio Pochettino is slowly elevating Chelsea to the level of a top team.
Despite Chelsea’s struggles to move up the Premier League standings thus far this year, one statistic in particular demonstrates why Mauricio Pochettino is the best candidate for the Stamford Bridge coaching position. The Blues have five points in just as many games, placing them in the bottom half of the English top division.
Arsenal and Tottenham, who have had a perfect start to the season, are currently tied for second place with Liverpool on 13 points, just two points behind Manchester City. Chelsea hasn’t had any trouble keeping things tight at the back as the teams in the top four had.
However, the west Londoners’ misfortune – or more likely, incapacity – at the other end of the pitch has set them apart from the City, Spurs, Liverpool, and Arsenal. In actuality, all four of the current Premier League’s top scorers have outperformed their respective expected goals (xG), though some more so than others.
Chelsea has badly failed in the xG category while accruing some of the most obvious opportunities in Europe’s top five divisions. According to FBref, the Blues have only managed to score five goals from a staggering 10.2 xG.
In the top five leagues in Europe, only seven other teams have performed better: Barcelona (12.3), Manchester City (12.2), Aston Villa (10.9), Brighton (10.7), Paris Saint-Germain (10.3), Liverpool (10.2), and Brentford (10.2). Tottenham is ranked in 12th, four spots behind Chelsea, with an xG of 9.4, while Arsenal is ranked in 14th with an xG of 9.3.
The west Londoners’ weekend draw with Bournemouth was just another instance of Pochettino leading his team to win but failing to take advantage of golden opportunities. The 51-year-old maintained that Chelsea deserved to leave the Vitality Stadium with all three points after the game.
