Soccer

Mauricio Pochettino: The statistics behind his brief reign as Chelsea boss

Pochettino won 26 of his 51 games in charge.

Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea
Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea (Nick Potts/PA)

Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea by mutual agreement after a single season in charge.

The Argentinian won just over half of his games in the role and here, the PA news agency looks at the statistics of his reign.

Chelsea comparison

Mauricio Pochettino won 51 per cent of his games as Chelsea boss
Mauricio Pochettino won 51 per cent of his games as Chelsea boss (Martin Rickett/PA)

Pochettino recorded 26 wins, 11 draws and 14 defeats in his 51 games in charge, with Chelsea scoring 103 goals and conceding 74. That includes ending the season with a five-game winning run to secure sixth place and Europa Conference League qualification.

His 51 per cent win rate is a significant improvement on his predecessor Graham Potter’s 39 per cent. Last season, under managers Thomas Tuchel, Potter and interim appointment Frank Lampard, with Bruno caretaker for one match, Chelsea won 16, drew 12 and lost 22 of their 50 games.

Under the big-money ownership of first Roman Abramovich and then Todd Boehly’s Clearlake consortium, though, only Potter, Andre Villas-Boas and Lampard have a lower win percentage than Pochettino – and Lampard even managed 52 per cent in permanent charge from 2019 to 2021 before being dragged down by one win in 11 last term.

Avram Grant is the surprise leader in that era on 67 per cent, while Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho, Maurizio Sarri, Carlo Ancelotti and Tuchel all hit at least 60 per cent.

Chelsea won 18 major trophies under Abramovich but have none in the two seasons since Boehly’s buyout. The latter has now parted ways with three permanent managers as well as sanctioning a £1billion gross spend on transfers.

Deja vu

Pochettino had an identical record through 51 games with Tottenham and Chelsea
Pochettino had an identical record through 51 games with Tottenham and Chelsea (Adam Davy/PA)

Pochettino’s Chelsea win rate trails his spells at Tottenham and Paris St Germain (54 and 70 per cent respectively) but is higher than he enjoyed with Espanyol or Southampton earlier in his career (33 and 38 per cent).

Remarkably, he leaves Chelsea with an identical record of wins, draws and losses as at the same 51-game stage of his Spurs reign. He went on to oversee a total of 293 games in over five years with the north London club, winning 159.

He took Chelsea to this season’s League Cup final where they were beaten by Liverpool, matching his efforts in 2014-15 when his Spurs side lost coincidentally to Chelsea at Wembley.

He also led Spurs to the 2019 Champions League final, losing to Liverpool, while his trophies as a manager have come with PSG – the 2021-22 Ligue 1 title and the previous year’s Coupe de France. He added the 2020 Trophee des Champions, France’s equivalent of England’s Community Shield.