Chelsea emerged from the crisis that has cast a cloud of worry over the club in stunning fashion as they comprehensively destroyed Aston Villa in their FA Cup fourth-round replay.
Chelsea faced an Aston Villa with quite a formidable home form this season. Which made Villa firm favourites to reach the last 16 before the replay fourth round of the FA Cup, however Chelsea produced a devastating attacking display to ease the pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino’s short tenure at Stamford Bridge was under severe scrutiny after the 4-2 home defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday left them languishing in 11th place in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s cup performances are rescuing their season, already reaching the EFL Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley on 25 February, while this was surely their best performance of the campaign against a Villa side who have lost only two games out of 16 on home territory.
Conor Gallagher set Chelsea on their way after 11 minutes with a composed right-foot finish at the Holte End, Nicolas Jackson swiftly adding a second with a neat header from Malo Gusto’s cross.
Villa’s hopes of a comeback were extinguished nine minutes after the interval when Enzo Fernandez curled a magnificent 25-yard free-kick into the top corner, tantalisingly away allagher and Jackson posed a constant danger while Gusto was the game’s outstanding performer at right-back.
It was also a night when Chelsea’s big money midfield duo of Fernandez and Moises Caicedo finally looked the part after £220m was spent on acquiring them.
Caicedo provided a calming midfield presence while Fernandez produced a moment of the highest class with the free-kick that effectively sealed the victory.
Pochettino’s position may not be under threat, with the manager saying he had received messages of support from Chelsea’s hierarchy, but he needed this expensive squad to produce a big performance and this was it.
“The expectation is massive. Sometimes the expectation is not easy because we are still a young team. But we are growing in a really good way,” Pochettino told BBC Match of the Day.
Speaking to ITV, the Chelsea boss added: “People are not patient. In a club like Chelsea you need to win. They don’t want to hear excuses.
“We are not the Chelsea of another time. It is a new project. The people need to believe. If they believe fantastic. If they don’t you know what happens – the most easy decision will appear.”
Pochettino must now hope this victory is the platform for more, starting at Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
