Revealed: The philosophical divide that led to Mauricio Pochettino’s split from Chelsea’s owners – and how Virgil van Dijk hammered it home before they cut ties with the manager

On Tuesday came the shock news that Mauricio Pochettino had mutually agreed to leave Chelsea after just one season in charge of the club.

Mail Sport understands that the 52-year-old Argentine coach was subject to a review by co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.

“On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to thank Mauricio for his service this season,” Stewart and Winstanley said on the club’s website. “He is welcome at Stamford Bridge at any time and we wish him all the best in his future coaching career.”

Their review came after their 2-1 win against Bournemouth on the final day of the Premier League season, and although there had been a lot of pressure on Pochettino at points this season, amid his side’s indifferent form, he would once again be get a chance to lead his team out. next season.

Some might argue that his side’s difficulties in the first half of the season are due to the severity of their injury list, with Chelsea plagued by a string of absences. Key players Ben Chilwell and Reece James missed large parts of the season, while newcomer Christopher Nkunku has struggled for game time this season.

The Argentine manager had helped Chelsea to sixth place in the league after winning their last five league matches

Yet it appears a rift has opened up between Pochettino and Chelsea co-owners Behdad Eghbali (left) and Todd Boehly (right).

But they seemed to turn things around, with Cole Palmer’s heroics in front of goal helping Chelsea to a sixth-place finish, ending their season in style by winning their last five league matches.

Even Todd Boehly recently spoke about the progress made at the club, seemingly claiming that he felt like the players were starting to gel.

However, it seems that even though things were starting to look good on the pitch, so did Pochettino in his opinion The Telegraphsomewhat at odds with the club’s hierarchy and disagreed with their playing philosophy for the team.

The outlet claims that the 52-year-old football coach ‘went against the structure built by Chelsea’s owners and sporting directors, who have made it abundantly clear that they believe football belongs to the players and the specialists.’

The Telegraph says Pochettino was ‘dismissive of the use of set-piece specialists’, while the Blues finished 9th in the top flight for goals conceded from set-pieces, 11. They are also 10th for goals scored from set-pieces. , after scoring twelve this season.

Back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Wolves, with Chelsea conceding four times on both occasions, had fueled speculation about the manager’s future at the club.

The west London club’s problems were compounded after they suffered a late defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final. Reaching the final of a major tournament in his first season in charge would have been a feather in the cap for Pochettino had Chelsea not been defeated.

Virgil van Dijk broke free from Chelsea’s defenders to score a header from a corner in extra time at Wembley.

Boehly (left) and Eghbali (right) reportedly had a different philosophy than Pochettino on the use of set-piece specialists

But the Argentine manager was apparently not keen on using a specialist coach

It came just before Chelsea were defeated by Liverpool in the dying stages of the Carabao Cup final

Virgil van Dijk had scored a header from a corner in extra time, sealing the 1-0 win

Perhaps the Dutchman’s header went some way to convincing the ownership group that they needed to take action to improve their set-piece play.

Pochettino later revealed that he had discussed the team’s strategy with co-owner Eghbali after claims emerged that he had eliminated co-owner Boehly after the match.

‘After the final, during the night, I met Behdad and we were talking. We shared our thoughts on the game and the chance we missed,” the Argentine said ahead of their FA Cup tie against Leeds.

While also admitting his disappointment at the loss, he added: “Reaching the final was a huge achievement in this project.”

Mail Sport later wrote that Boehly and his leadership group were looking for a new set-piece specialist for next season, and this newspaper understands that the Argentine was not consulted in their search for a new appointment.

They would eventually sign Bernardo Cueva from Brentford, with The Telegraph reporting that the now departed Blues boss had ‘accepted Cueva’s arrival’.

Chelsea are set to appoint Bernardo Cueva from Brentford as coach for next year

The 52-year-old Argentinian was subjected to an internal review led by sporting directors Paul Winstanley (left) and Laurence Stewart (right) and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali.

Pochettino will now leave the club after winning 27 games, drawing 10 and losing 14 games

Thomas Tuchel (left) and Graham Potter (right) were both sacked by Chelsea’s current owners

Pochettino will now leave the club having won 27 games, drawn 10 and lost 14 games in all competitions. During his time at Chelsea, the former Spurs boss achieved a points-per-match ratio of 1.66.

“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of the history of this football club,” Pochettino had said upon his departure.

“The Club is now well positioned to continue to progress in the Premier League and Europe in the coming years.”