Chelsea have officially parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino after just one season at Stamford Bridge. Here is a timeline of the Argentine’s spell with the club.
The news broke on Tuesday the 21st of May 2024 that Mauricio Pochettino would be leaving Chelsea with immediate effect by mutual consent.
Fans were understandably shocked by this, given Chelsea’s resurgence towards the end of the 23/24 campaign which actually saw the first-team squad pull things back and finish 6th in the Premier League, securing European football.
Players like Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk were all understandably saddened by the situation. They were brought to life by Poch.
But alas, things weren’t meant to be long-term for the 52-year-old around Cobham. With this, let’s take a look at the year Chelsea spent with Mauricio Pochettino.
A timeline of Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea
29th May 2023: Poch announced as head coach
Chelsea confirmed that Pochettino would be the head coach on the 29th of May 2023, with the Argentine set to begin his new role on the 1st of July 2023 on a two-year contract, with a club option of a further year.
Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s co-sporting directors, said: “Mauricio’s experience, standards of excellence, leadership qualities and character will serve Chelsea Football Club well as we move forward.
“He is a winning coach, who has worked at the highest levels, in multiple leagues and languages. His ethos, tactical approach and commitment to development all made him the exceptional candidate.”
Owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, José E. Feliciano, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss added: “The sporting team conducted a diligent and thoughtful process that the Board is proud of.
“We are delighted that Mauricio will be joining Chelsea. Mauricio is a world-class coach with an outstanding track record. We are all looking forward to having him on board.”
13th August 2023: First Chelsea game vs Liverpool
Pochettino’s first match in charge was a highly anticipated Premier League opener against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on the 13th of August 2023. A well-contested fixture, it didn’t live up too much to the thrill factor, ending in a 1–1 draw.
The first goal of the Argentine’s reign came from an unlikely source in Axel Disasi who got the Blues back level pegging.
25th August 2023: Victorious against Luton Town
His first win as the manager of Chelsea was against Luton Town, which ended in a 3–0 win, with a brace from Raheem Sterling and a first goal for Chelsea from Nicolas Jackson.
1st September 2023: Cole Palmer acquired by Poch
The most influential signing of the Pochettino era by a country mile. At the time, England under-21 star, Cole Palmer was signed on deadline day for an initial £40m.
With hindsight in our favour, we now know this was an absolute bargain, and undoubtedly the signing of the season. The Premier League young player of the year was electric all season and was a shining light amid a sea of dim ones for some while in London.
6th & 12th November 2023: Absolute thrillers against Manchester City and Tottenham
The first real tasty fixture of the Pochettino era came on November 6th, when the Blues visited the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the Argentine facing his former side for the first time since his departure.
Despite an unsettling welcome, it was Poch who got the last laugh. A Jackson hat-trick and a Palmer strike cancelled out a Dejan Kulusevski penalty to stun what was at the time a high-flying Spurs side.
Just six days later, the treble winners of Manchester City came to the Bridge, where fans were treated to one of the games of the season – a 4-4 thriller.
It was a game that no one could predict and had more twists and turns than a ride at Thorpe Park. A 95th-minute Palmer penalty against his old club made sure the points were shared on the day.
It looked from here that Chelsea would kick on, but in typical Blues fashion, they were battered 4-1 by Newcastle in the very next fixture.
27th February 2024: League Cup agony for the Argentine
Poch guided Chelsea to the Carabao Cup final, which they unfortunately lost to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. He beat Newcastle United on penalties in the quarter-final and then got a 6–2 win on aggregate over Middlesbrough in the semi-final.
But at Wembley, it was 1-0 to Liverpool in extra time, after Virgil van Dijk scored an 118-minute winner to win their tenth title. It marked Chelsea’s sixth consecutive Wembley final defeat.
20th & 23rd April 2024: FA Cup exit and Arsenal embarrassment
A dark few days for Chelsea. The Blues were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City in the semi-final, ending all chances of silverware in Poch’s inaugural season.
To add insult to injury, the following Tuesday Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side gave Chelsea an absolute rollicking. 5-0 at the Emirates, which left Pochettino’s future under huge uncertainty.
2nd May 2024: Chelsea resurgence…
But Poch came back fighting – and how. A well-fought 2-2 draw with Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa followed by a 2-0 win over Tottenham started the Blues’ best run of form under the Argentine.
They then went on to win the final four games of the season, unbeaten in six since the embarrassment at the Emirates. The future looked bright – that was until…
21st May 2024: Mauricio Pochettino leaves Chelsea
After winning all five of their remaining Premier League games of the season, Chelsea finished sixth in the league and qualified for European football for next season.
But just two days after the final game of the season, Chelsea announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways with Pochettino.
You can’t help but think this was a bitter injustice for the Argentine. A decent league finish, an attractive style of football and a narrow cup final loss still ultimately couldn’t change his Chelsea fate.
Whoever gets Pochettino next is a lucky club, he is genuinely a spectacular manager.