‘We are so far away' - Mauricio Pochettino admits Chelsea have hit 'bottom' in one key area amid nightmare Premier League run

Despite encouraging displays against title contenders like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City at home, inconsistency has plagued the west London side since the Argentine took charge in the summer. Pochettino insists that the Blues' performances haven't been that bad, but also admits his players are lacking the competitive edge needed to be successful in the Premier League.

Speaking to the official Chelsea website, Pochettino said: "The performance from the beginning of the season is not bad. We could have said it’s very good, but in terms of competing we are at the bottom. That is why we are not in a better position in the table. Football is about having all the quality and knowledge in your set-ups, the way you press and build from the back, and so on. Then at some point during the 90 minutes, you need to compete: that is the moment you need to show you can play another [style of] football. We need to improve there."

Chelsea have spent over £1 billion on players since Todd Boehly took over in 2022 and fans expect that they should at least be competing for European football. However, that has not been the case and with Champions League qualification already looking out of reach in 2023-24, it seems the Blues will be waiting at least one more year for a return to the elite stage, with Pochettino conceding they are falling well short of their pre-season aims.

"We are so far away from our targets," Pochettino added. "Our target was to be at the top, even if nobody believed it. Now we are fighting for different things. Because of our history the demand is to be at the top, but at the moment, being realistic, we need to increase the way we compete if we want to win more games than we lose."

Chelsea succumbed to their 19th Premier League loss in 2023 against Wolves last weekend, the joint-most in the English top flight along with Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea's progress has also been hampered by injuries to key players and suspensions throughout the campaign. In fact, they have received a league-high of 56 yellow cards so far in 2023-24, which highlights their poor disciplinary record.

"We knew it would be a tough job, but the injuries and suspensions have made it worse," said Pochettino. "Too many important players out, too many circumstances from the beginning of the season not in our hands. That is the problem. That makes us disappointed and frustrated, but it’s a challenge."

Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling in attack against Crystal Palace on Wednesday after the duo picked up their fifth yellow cards of the campaign against Wolves. The onus will be on Nicolas Jackson to score the goals, but the former Villarreal man has struggled for consistency since his summer move to Stamford Bridge.