Chelsea have announced the departure of Graham Potter as manager following the 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa on Saturday, which saw the Blues drop into the bottom half of the Premier League.
Potter, who started with three wins in a row after succeeding Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September, has picked up just four victories in the Premier League since the World Cup break and Saturday's loss saw Chelsea drop down to 11th in the table.
"Chelsea FC has announced that Graham Potter has departed the club. Graham has agreed to collaborate with the Club to facilitate a smooth transition," the west London club said in a statement on Sunday evening.
"In his time with the club, Graham has taken us to the quarter-final of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid. Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contribution and wish him well for the future."
The club had hoped that the win over Borussia Dortmund in the last eight of the Champions League would be a turning point, but their form in the Premier League has not picked up and winning the competition looks like their only viable route back into it for next season.
However, that will be incredibly tough as the Blues face Real Madrid over two legs, before a possible semi-final against either Manchester City or Bayern Munich, where Tuchel is now in charge.
Bruno Saltor, who played and later worked with Potter at Brighton, will take charge of the team as interim head coach, Chelsea said.
"On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea. We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome," co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said.
"Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
"We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high."
