Sports
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says data shows his side ‘should be fourth’
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![Mauricio Pochettino](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/624/cpsprodpb/0810/production/_133046020_gettyimages-2078062746.jpg)
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says his side “should be in fourth position” according to “all the data”.
The Blues are 11th in the Premier League table, 17 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
The FA Cup is their only chance of silverware – although they face holders Manchester City in the semi-finals.
“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 rank fourth for expected goal difference per game, on 0.36 – with 50.64 xG for and 40.88 xG against in 27 games. Their actual goal difference is +2 (47-45), which is 0.07 per game.
However on nearly every other metric Chelsea rank lower than fourth including on goals, shots, shots on target, possession, passes, touches, touches in the opposition box, expected goals for and against and big chances.
Chelsea have spent over £1bn on transfer fees since Todd Boehly took over the club just under two years ago after previous owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government.
The Blues have suffered multiple injuries this season although the club would still expect to be in the top half of the table. They are in danger of a second consecutive season without European football.
Chelsea Supporters’ Trust recently said the club is close to “irreversible toxicity” and “the current mood among supporters is critically low”.
Fans have chanted the names of Abramovich and legendary former manager Jose Mourinho during recent home games.
Shots (including blocks): Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Brighton, Manchester United, Bournemouth, Everton, Newcastle, Fulham, Brentford |
Shots (excluding blocks): Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Brighton, Everton, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Manchester United, Fulham |
Shots on target: Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Bournemouth |
Expected goals: Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Newcastle |
“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.”
Joint 12th on clean sheets | 14th on expected goals conceded |
10th on goals conceded | 13th on tackles won |
15th on tackles success rate | Joint fifth on penalties conceded |
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.”
Sports
US Open women’s final 2024: Aryna Sabalenka holds off Jessica Pegula to win third Grand Slam title
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After losing to Gauff in last year’s final, a tearful Sabalenka admitted she had struggled to deal with the crowd, later saying the noise was so loud it “blocked my ears”.
The atmosphere was no different this time around, with Pegula receiving the majority of the support from the packed 23,000-seater stadium.
There were times when Sabalenka looked like the occasion would again get the better of her as she hit 34 unforced errors and five double faults.
Once the type of player who failed to keep her emotions in check, she has taken active steps to strengthen her mentality, including working with a psychologist, to become one of the most consistent competitors on the WTA Tour.
With injuries disrupting her season – she struggled with a stomach problem at the French Open before a shoulder issue ruled her out of Wimbledon – Sabalenka has got back on track with successive titles after beating Pegula in the final of last month’s Cincinnati Open.
“I wish she would have at least let me get one set. We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she’s one of the best in the world,” Pegula said.
“She’s super powerful and isn’t going to give you anything, she can take the racquet out of your hand.”
Sabalenka’s victory in New York sees her become the first player to win both hard-court Slams in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016.
Sports
Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: What BBC Radio 5 Live saw in Lee Carsley’s first game
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Ian Dennis
Even before we had gone live on air for 5 Live, it was noticeable how involved Lee Carsley was with the warm-up.
The interim head coach even placed the red and white cones out in the England half of the field.
He was waiting on the pitch as a solitary figure before the players came out to warm up.
Carsley was actively involved along with his assistants Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott. It’s a significant change in approach to that of Gareth Southgate or previous managers.
I even remember Fabio Capello, when he was England head coach, watching intently from the sidelines along with his assistant Franco Baldini – but they would study and monitor the opposition.
Carsley was purely focused on his England players and looked comfortable as a tracksuit manager.
John Murray
If you were looking for a different approach from Lee Carsley, it was there right from the start. There was an initial mis-step when he turned right to the home dugout when he first walked down the tunnel, but it was a tracksuited Carsley who laid out the balls and the cones and oversaw the whole of the warm-up.
It served to underline how he wishes to be seen very much as the head coach. And if England replicate the first-half performance, he will not be interim for too much longer.
Sports
Paris 2024 Paralympics: Finlay Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw win trio of golds for GB
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Finlay Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw won gold medals on Saturday morning at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, taking Great Britain’s tally to 45.
Graham, 24, won the men’s C1-3 road race, while Wiggs, 44, was victorious in the women’s VL2 200m Va’a Single final.
Henshaw, 37, continued GB’s Para-canoe success, winning the women’s VL3 Single final, where there was also a silver medal for Hope Gordon. David Phillipson took silver in the men’s KL2 Single final.
Daniel Powell has guaranteed himself at least a silver medal in the men’s -90kg men’s J1 judo.
In Para-equestrian, Sophie Wells won the bronze medal in the Grade V individual freestyle event.
Great Britain now have a total of 106 medals at the Paralympics, including those 45 golds. Only China, with 85 golds and 195 total medals, have more.
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