Mauricio Pochettino’s difficult start to life with Chelsea in the Premier League continues after a 0-0 draw away at Bournemouth on Sunday. The Blues were unable to find a way past the Cherries despite dominating in terms of shots and possession. Pochettino has not had it easy since returning to the Premier League this season and Chelsea remain out of the top half with just one win from five games played. A full three-point haul would have moved the Argentinian and his players into the top 10 but they already find themselves increasingly off the pace in terms of the UEFA Champions League hunt. As if last season was not wretched enough for Todd Boehly, this campaign is not proving much better so far despite much preseason optimism.
We take a look at some of the emerging numbers which illustrate the struggles Pochettino and Chelsea are going through right now despite another summer of big transfer maneuvers.
1: Chelsea players who have multiple goals
So far, only one player in Chelsea’s squad has scored more than one goal so far this season — Raheem Sterling. The England international has just seen a run of 14 straight wins over Bournemouth come to an end. Aside from Sterling, only one player has even multiple goal involvements all campaign and that is Malo Gusto with two assists.
2: Away wins in Premier League in a long, long time
Chelsea have only won two away games in the Premier League since Graham Potter’s first pair of victories on the road last term. The English tactician led the Blues to victory over Crystal Palace and Aston Villa but Chelsea have since only managed two more away wins from 16 games played in England’s topflight with nine of those being defeats.
3: Multiplier of how many more goals Brighton have
Brighton and Hove Albion are currently in the Champions League places in the Premier League which is where Chelsea want to be and the Seagulls have scored three times as many goals. Roberto De Zerbi’s men have found the back of the net 15 times to Pochettino and his players’ total of five which average out at one goal per game for now.
5: Points from games
Quite a popular number in Chelsea stats so far this season and not really in any positive way given that the Blues have only scored five times so far from five games played. However, it is also the number of points that they have claimed which puts them at a rate of one goal scored and conceded per game for one point gained which is nowhere near good enough for a squad of this quality. The last time Chelsea had this few points after five Premier League games was back in 1995-96 when they finished 11th.
7: Points off the Champions League pace
Chelsea find themselves seven points off of Champions League pace already with Arsenal having won four of their five games so far and drawn the other one to sit fourth in the final qualification spot. It already looks quite far away for Pochettino’s men who face Aston Villa and the Gunners in their next four EPL fixtures as well as Brighton in the EFL Cup.
10: Points off the top of the Premier League
The difference between perfect leaders Manchester City and Chelsea is already 10 points and although nobody expected the Blues to challenge for the title, it spells out just how far off the pace they are. Pochettino’s men and their domestic form should theoretically benefit from an absence of continental action but that is not proving to be the case so far with City racking up three times as many points already.
14: Away PL games without a win
Of greater concern for Pochettino personally than Chelsea is that he has now gone 14 away Premier League games without a win which obviously dates back to his Tottenham hotspur days too. It is still early days but the Blues have not enjoyed the immediate impact that the South American was expected to bring so far and Fulham as well as Burnley will need to be turned into wins to avoid more being made of this unflattering tally.
195: Minutes since last PL goal
Arguably the most damning statistic of all is that Chelsea are now without a goal in nearly 200 minutes of Premier League play which dates back to the 3-0 win over Luton Town nearly one month ago. Nicolas Jackson’s 75th minute strike was the last EPL goal scored by Pochettino’s side with goalless outings against both Nottingham Forest and now Bournemouth since. Villa at home next will not exactly inspire confidence given Unai Emery’s men have won three of their five games so far.