Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino asserts that his team “ought to occupy the fourth spot” based on “all available statistics.”
Chelsea currently sits in 11th position in the Premier League standings, trailing fourth-placed Aston Villa by 17 points.
Their sole opportunity for securing silverware lies in the FA Cup, notwithstanding the challenge of facing defending champions Manchester City in the semi-final.
“We know really well what we are doing. That’s why I laugh. I don’t take it personally when the fans say that [criticise],” said Pochettino.
Chelsea ranks fourth for expected goal difference per game, at 0.36, with 50.64 xG for and 40.88 xG against in 27 games. Their actual goal difference stands at +2 (47-45), equating to 0.07 per game.
However, Chelsea ranks lower than fourth in almost every other metric, including goals, shots, shots on target, possession, passes, touches, touches in the opposition box, expected goals for and against, and big chances.
Since Todd Boehly took over the club nearly two years ago, following the sanctioning of previous owner Roman Abramovich by the UK government, Chelsea has spent over £1bn on transfer fees.
Despite suffering multiple injuries this season, the club would still anticipate being in the top half of the table. However, they are at risk of missing out on European football for a second consecutive season.
The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust recently expressed concern about the club’s situation, describing it as being close to “irreversible toxicity,” and noted that the current mood among supporters is very low.
During recent home games, fans have been heard chanting the names of Abramovich and legendary former manager Jose Mourinho.
“I’m going to support the owners that invest and that arrived to the club in a very difficult situation,” said Pochettino, who was hired last summer.
“The intention is very good. The owners are trying to develop a different project to before. Fans need to understand that it’s a new project with different ideas.
“What we cannot say is they’re not investing and that they don’t have good intentions. They are suffering.”
The former Tottenham manager continued: “If you look at all the data, in the table we should be in fourth position. But for different reasons, we are not there.
“What the data means is that we are in a good way. In which area do we need to improve? It’s things [that will come] with time. We need to compete better, small details. You can only get this with experience with time playing together.
“It’s easy to find the data when you want to kill someone. But when the data is good and reflects the team is doing well but for different reasons we’re not getting the results we deserve, [we should] trust in the process.”