The top six favourites to become new Chelsea manager has been revealed by Sky Bet with Graham Potter sacked late on Sunday evening.
Unai Emery was pleased with his side coming away from Stamford Bridge with a 2-0 victory, putting on a calm display against the Blues and it ended up being the final game for Potter, axed a day later.
Ollie Watkins scored the opening goal after Marc Cucurella made a costly mistake. He latched on to the Chelsea defender’s backwards header to lob home before John McGinn’s second half rocket sealed the win.
This is the fifth win for the Villans on the road since Emery was appointed in October. It means they have now picked up 16 points away from home, a tally equalled only by Manchester City in that time.
Chelsea’s 10 wins have been against opposition in the bottom half of the Premier League. However, this loss sees them drop to 11th place and Villa climb up to ninth.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, speaking to Sky Sports: “It’s not easy to come here. We prepared for the match thinking we might struggle, which we did at times in the first half.
We started very well the first 20 minutes, and then after our goal the defence and the goalkeeper were very important.
“At half time we discussed that sometimes you have to struggle before you can score, to be mentally clever to know that sometimes that is the way you win. We spoke about how we could better and manage their attacks, which I think we managed to do well in the second half.”
On John McGinn’s performance: “On the pitch and in the dressing room he is a very important player. Every day he is smiling, he works hard, he is competitive. His commitment is amazing. He understands everything we ask of him tactically, and he deserves the performances he is producing.”
On Aston Villa’s ambitions for the rest of the season: “It will be very, very difficult to challenge for Europe. Our objective is to be in the top 10, which we currently are. But from Tuesday onwards, we need to make sure we stay there.”
“I’m very happy for us and for our supporters because they have been supporting us and sharing our commitment on the pitch.
“We are not stopping. We are going to be very demanding to try and get three points, and to do better on Tuesday.” ā @UnaiEmery_ pic.twitter.com/xDhyAdSwb0
ā Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 1, 2023
Chelsea manager Graham Potter, speaking to BBC MOTD: “The most important number is the one that goes against us. We have to do better.
“In terms of the game, you can see the players gave everything, they took on the responsibility, they tried, they had lots of entries into the box and shots and attacks.
“Ultimately we conceded a poor first goal which makes everything very emotional and rightly so. We’re disappointed because we’re 1-0 down but the players responded well they kept on responding throughout. The second goal is disappointing because we started the second half well.
“But if you look at the stats apart from the main one there is a lot of positives there. But at the moment into doesn’t feel too positive.
“After a defeat there is always a disappointment. There is always a feeling we have not moved forward, that’s fair to say. We have to analyse the performance and look at the things we’ve done well and what we can do better. Defensively we’ve left ourselves too open but again if you look at the stats of the game we had chances ourselves, we had one-v-ones, but the most important thing, putting the ball into the net, we were second-best.
“I don’t like to blame anybody, I have to take responsibility. We are a team, we have to stay together, we are together. We win or lose together.
“We will recover and we will prepare for the next game. We need to respond, that’s clear. But we look forward to it.”
Dharmesh Sheth explains why Graham Potter was sacked by Chelsea š pic.twitter.com/3SNlqnCnA3
ā Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 3, 2023
CLUB STATEMENT:
Chelsea FC has announced that Graham Potter has departed the club. Graham has agreed to collaborate with the Club to facilitate a smooth transition. In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid. Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future.
Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team as Interim Head Coach.
Co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: ‘On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea. We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.
‘Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.’
TOP SIX FAVOURITES TO BECOME NEW CHELSEA MANAGER
Sky Bet – 3rd April – 8am
Julian Nagelsmann – 1/3
Bruno Saltor – 9/2
Brendan Rodgers – 6/1
Luis Enrique – 14/1
Mauricio Pochettino – 14/1
Zinedine Zidane – 14/1
Sky Bet – 4th April – 3pm
Julian Nagelsmann – 8/11
Luis Enrique – 4/1
Brendan Rodgers – 6/1
Bruno Saltor – 6/1
Mauricio Pochettino – 8/1
Jose Mourinho – 14/1
Fans gave their thoughts as the top six favourites to become new Chelsea manager is revealed with Graham Potter sacked…
@HarrisT___: Call me crazy, but I am fancying a 3rd spell in charge for Jose #CFC
@1neilhallam: #cfc in danger of following Everton’s lead, throwing money and managers around and producing failure. Ā£500m spent, and no centre forward? Sack the manager! And another one! Potter was always a risk for Chelsea but had to be backed long term or not at all. Boehly looking foolish.
@ReubenRosso1: If Nagelsmann gets the #CFC job it would be interesting to see if a 35 y/o has the tools to navigate his way through a squad full of egos and personalities.
@_flemzeey: Luis Enrique is my Pick… Let him come and implement 4-3-3… So we can weed so many unwanted players away… Especially those nonsense players we have in attack and midfield…. Plus he will command the respect of Chelsea players straightaway.. #CFC
@JoshMiernik: Waking up, disappointing to see Potter go in the long run. Fantastic manager but unfortunately, doesnāt have the time needed to do what he wants at a big club. Players have to step up big time under a new manager or get sold. Too much coasting and mediocrity #CFC @talkSPORT
@rjcdude44: V sad that G Pots is gone but can’t help feeling that it was the right decision.. we gave him enough time to ride out the difficult periods and not enough improvement given the recent investments. Was a step too far too early. Now give us J Nagels ball big Todd B š¤¤ #CFC š
@CFCOwenS: Time for one last dance. Bring back #Mourinho to #ChelseaFC . He kicked off our last resurgence, it’s only right to allow him the same opportunity to do it here. Might be the romance talking, but if there’s anyone who can get the best out of these players it’s him. #Potter #CFC
@_SeanNUFC: Feel for potter. Not saying he was great but Chelsea just signed anyone hoping they would gel, no recruitment philosophy almost the impossible job to get Chelsea winning gameās consistently
@tynetakes: Absolutely mental. Paid 21m to get him and theyāve panicked and got rid of him without giving him the time. Unbelievable. The lack of loyalty in modern day football is just ridiculous. Who would want to work at that club? Best of luck to Potter- heāll be back
@Jasenick6281: Gutted for the fella, it didnāt seem a good fit from the start, not sure he wanted the players that came in and this caused big problems for him. Hope he finds a good club soon and be allowed to build like he did at Brighton.
@hewings8:
Always said it was the wrong job for Potter!
Chelsea are the most impatient of clubs when it comes managers.
His style wouldāve taken 18+ months to be implemented.
Totally wrong job for him!
@neilmuirhead1: Never ever even looked like he fitted from day one, looked to overawed by the place, also the owner just buying whoever he wanted it was never going to work. Tuchel to Potter, terrible decision
@Robertkas88: I bet he wish he hadnāt left Brighton now š just shows you difference from having it comfy at smaller club compared to big club with big ambitions dealing with big names. Always thought poch would be good fit at Chelsea if they let him do it his way
@_namedNameless: Some of these managers doing well at smaller teams need to learn how to say, āno thanks, Iām good hereā, when these big clubs come for their signatures. But no, everyone wants to spring up even when theyāre not ready for it yet. Seen this movie a thousand times.
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