Mauricio Pochettino has no problem with Chelsea’s owners visiting the dressing room after matches, but points out it is not their job to come in and “give some speech”.
Co-owner Behdad Eghbali went into the changing room following Sunday’s defeat to Aston Villa, with other members of the club’s senior hierarchy, including Todd Boehly and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, having done similarly after home Premier League games this season.
The Argentinian insists it is “good” that the quartet spend time around the players on matchdays, provided his authority is respected.
“I like when the owners come,” he said. “In all my career as a coach, at Espanyol then Southampton, Tottenham and Paris St Germain also, before and after.
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“I think it’s good that the owners came to the dressing room. It’s in the way that they approach the players that is the most important. If they are in a good way, I think they’re very welcome.
“After my press conference on Sunday against Aston Villa they came and shared with us like normal.
“Against Liverpool, first game, then Luton and Nottingham Forest, they came with Paul and Laurence and Behdad, and sometimes with Todd also. They share some comment and we talk about the game, always after my (press) duties.
“I don’t see it in a bad way. For me it’s good always if they share with us, then they can say hello to the players. The difference is if they come for some speech. That is different.
“But in the way they came they are very welcome. They own the club, they can do whatever they want.
“I think they are in a very good way and we are glad that they came and shared with us – even like happened on Sunday when we didn’t win and we are suffering.”
Boehly entered the dressing room and spoke to the team on a number of occasions last season, most notably after the 2-1 defeat to Brighton in April when he told the squad their season had been “embarrassing”.
Chelsea face the same opposition at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday in arguably a worse position than the last time Roberto De Zerbi’s team visited.
Defeat to the Seagulls came in a run that saw the team win just one of their final 12 league games of the season en route to finishing 12th under caretaker boss Frank Lampard.
This season has begun in similarly poor form with one win and three defeats from Pochettino’s first six Premier League games.
Pochettino said he waited until Monday to address his players following the loss to Villa, which came after the visitors took advantage of defender Malo Gusto’s second-half red card to win it with a breakaway Ollie Watkins goal.
“Not really (I didn’t give a speech after the game),” he said. “We talked on Monday and Tuesday with the players. But it’s my duty, if I need to do it, it’s my decision (to make) some speech. Only me, or the captain.
“It’s not a job of the owner to come to the dressing room and give some speech after the game, whether you win or you lose. But they know very well how they need to behave.”
Defeat on Sunday made this Chelsea’s worst start to a league season for 45 years, with the team still struggling to convert possession and chances into goals – a feature that has carried over from last term.
The team’s performances have arguably been better than results, with Pochettino’s side having looked far the likelier to take three points up until Gusto was dismissed for a dangerous tackle on Villa’s Lucas Digne on 58 minutes.
The situation has been made worse by an injury crisis that left the boss without 12 first-team players for the recent goalless draw against Bournemouth.
“If you go back to the Liverpool game (on the opening weekend), I think no-one expected this situation,” Pochettino said.
“The circumstances are (something) that sometimes you cannot manage, a little bit of bad luck. We can’t talk about excuses, but that is the circumstances and the reality.”
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City: Haaland back on the goal trail as defending champions march on
Erling Haaland returned from injury to keep Manchester City’s title charge on track as Pep Guardiola’s side secured a 2-0 victory over relegation-battling Nottingham Forest.
Josko Gvardiol’s near-post header was all that separated the two sides at half-time as he fired City in front from a Kevin De Bruyne corner.
Forest were left to rue big opportunities missed in the opening 45 minutes, with Chris Wood and Murillo both having gilt-edged chances to find an equaliser at the City Ground.
But Guardiola, overseeing his 300th Premier League game as City boss, called upon Haaland in the second half, and the Norway international duly delivered to double City’s lead and nudge the reigning champions back to within a point of leaders Arsenal, who beat Tottenham earlier on Sunday.
It was almost a dream opening minute for Forest as Ola Aina’s floated cross to the back post was met by an unmarked Neco Williams, but he failed to connect properly with a close-range shot.
Forest were made to pay when City opened the scoring in the 32nd minute. De Bruyne’s excellent delivery found Gvardiol, who powered a header home at the front post.
Wood should have restored parity shortly after, as he found himself in acres of space when Gonzalo Montiel cut it back on the volley, but the ball got caught up in the striker’s feet with the goal at his mercy.
Forest went agonisingly close again on the stroke of half-time, with Ederson – who was subsequently taken off at the break – fortunate not to concede after he failed to deal with Callum Hudson-Odoi’s corner, but Murillo could not apply the finish a few yards out.
Wood saw another huge chance pass by early in the second half, but his close-range effort was blocked after some excellent work from Anthony Elanga down the left.
De Bruyne showed his creative spark once again as he slotted a throughball behind the Forest defence in the 63rd minute, but Julian Alvarez’s effort from the edge of the area flew into the stands behind the goal.
Matz Sels was called into action moments later, palming behind De Bruyne’s thunderous long-range strike, which was heading for the top-left corner.
But City’s second finally arrived when, in the 71st minute, De Bruyne teed up Haaland, who calmly got the better of his marker, shifted it onto his right foot and slotted into the bottom-left corner to end Forest’s hopes of a comeback.
While City remain hot on Arsenal’s heels, Forest stay just one point above the relegation zone, having lost three of their last four matches.
Guardiola – 300 not out
Sunday marked Guardiola’s 300th Premier League game in charge of Man City, seeing him become the 19th manager to reach this total, and just the fifth to do so for a single club.
Of the 300 games under the Spanish manager’s tutelage, City have won 221, scoring 741 goals in the process, while only conceding 247 times.
City now have a four-point lead over Liverpool, whose title hopes are fading quickly, and an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League crown is certainly on the cards for Guardiola.
Forest’s recurring issues show no sign of abating
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have now conceded 29 first-half goals in 35 league games this season, with only Sheffield United (38) and Burnley (30) having conceded more.
The Tricky Trees – who are one of three teams fighting for 17th place after Everton hauled themselves to safety over the past week – have also conceded 23 goals from set-pieces this term in the competition, at least five more than any other team.
Despite being behind at the break, Forest’s xG of 1.27 was the most by any side in the first half of a game against City this season, in all competitions, with a wastefulness in front of goal another glaring problem that Nuno must fix.
Lyon are through to their 11th Women's Champions League final after sealing a 5-3 aggregate victory over compatriots Paris Saint-Germain.
The record eight-time winners scored three times in the final 10 minutes of last week's first leg to take a narrow 3-2 lead into the return fixture at Parc des Princes.
However, they were quicker out of the blocks in the second leg, with just three minutes on the clock when Selma Bacha drilled home from range for her first Champions League strike in five-and-a-half years.
Tabitha Chawinga responded before the break to reduce PSG's aggregate deficit to a single goal, but Melchie Dumornay put the tie beyond doubt nine minutes from time, as Sonia Bompastor's side set up a final showdown with Barcelona on May 25.
Data debrief
Lyon continued their dominance over PSG in Champions League semi-final encounters, having now progressed from each of their last four such ties.
The eight-time champions lost their first two semi-finals they contested in this competition, but have now won each of the last 10, and will seek a record-extending ninth title in Bilbao next month.
Inter's 'leader' Inzaghi upping the standards, says assistant Farris
Simone Inzaghi has set and maintained high standards at Inter, so says his Nerazzurri assistant Massimiliano Farris.
Inter clinched their 20th Serie A title by beating fierce rivals Milan in Monday's derby.
That meant that Sunday's home meeting with Torino was something of a celebration for Inter and their fans, and the team delivered with a 2-0 victory.
Hakan Calhanoglu scored both of Inter's goals, and Farris, who spoke to the media instead of his boss, piled the praise on Inzaghi.
In quotes reported by Football Italia, Farris told DAZN: "We've tried to build a positive environment. We lost important players [last summer], but we welcomed important players who made themselves loved.
"Going to the pitch and working this season was a pleasure. We had a lot of fun and it's the players' merit.
"We are Inter, we have great value, and we couldn't afford to lose games like we used to. He's our leader, he kept a high bar in difficult moments.
"Today, we are repaid for everything, and we can enjoy more of what happened in the previous two years. In football, defeats [hurt] more than victories, but now we must enjoy this moment."
With victory over Milan, Inzaghi became the second-fastest coach to reach 600 points in Serie A, after Carlo Ancelotti.
Farris added: "Simone already said it in the previous interviews. We’ve been fighting for every target across the last three years. We have won cups, we reached a Champions League final.
"We are aware that in the first season, we missed something that we could have taken home [the title].
"Perhaps it was the price to pay, as staff members, when you get to a club like this, but I think this season's achievements give value to all other trophies.
"Today's atmosphere was incredible, so good. Ninety minutes and more of celebrations and it was fair to start those who have brought the team here. This doesn't mean the others didn't contribute. On the contrary, everyone was helpful, I should name them all. I wouldn't even call them reserves."
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