Chelsea will embark on the 2023/24 season under new management after Mauricio Pochettinho was announced as the new Blues boss earlier this week.
Signing a two-year contract with the option for a further year, Pochettino becomes the fifth manager to have managed both Chelsea and Tottenham, with the Argentine having spent over five years in north London with Spurs. The season just gone will go down as one of the Blues' worst in history, with Frank Lampard the last of three managers to lead Chelsea to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League.
Pochettino has been out of management since the end of the 2021/22 season after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, and the 51-year-old will join up with his squad on July 1 to lead his team during pre-season. The Blues had been linked with Pochettino multiple times along with Spurs who continue their search for a new manager.
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So, could the Argentine bring back the feel-good factor to Stamford Bridge in the 2023/24 season? We simulated the rest of the season to find out.
Chelsea's 2023/24 season simulated with Mauricio Pochettino
To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2023 to appoint Pochettino as Chelsea manager on July 1, 2023 before simulating the 2023/24 season. In his first season, the 51-year-old made just one signing, with Christopher Nkunku arriving from RB Leipzig whilst 13 players departed the club.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Chelsea XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what it looked like:
Full Chelsea best XI: (3-4-2-1): Kepa; Fofana, Badiashile, Silva; James, Kante, Fernandez, Chilwell; Havertz, Mudryk; Nkunku.
Nkunku led the Chelsea squad in attack, grabbing 24 goals across all competitions to beat Kai Havertz (14) to the Blues' golden boot. Mykhailo Mudryk found some form to make the best XI, whilst Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kane and Reece James avoided injury issues to feature in Pochettino's side for most of the season.
Despite his age, Thiago Silva was still one of the top-performing players for Chelsea, joining Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana at the back. With no European competitions, the Blues could put more of their focus into the league, and it worked a treat, with Pochettino rejuvenating his side and leading Chelsea to a top-four finish.
It was a very competitive season, with just five points separating the Blues in third and Manchester United in sixth. 21 wins, 10 draws and seven losses saw Pochettino earn 73 points in total, 29 more than they picked up in the 2022/23 campaign.
Despite no defensive incomings, Pochettino worked his magic to make Chelsea one of the best defensive teams in the league, with only runaway Champions Man City (23) conceding less than the Blues (29). Rather than rotating, the Argentine boss opted to play his strongest side in all competitions, and this paid off as he led Chelsea to a trophy in the simulation.
After beating Watford, Burnley, Arsenal and Everton on their way to the final, A Havertz brace secured a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup final to hand the Blues the trophy for the first time since 2018. They also had a decent run in the Carabao Cup, reaching the semi-finals where they lost 2-0 to Liverpool over two legs.
Overall, FM23 predicts that Pochettino could be a fantastic fit at Chelsea, getting the best out of the current squad and leading the Blues to a top-four finish as well as a domestic trophy. There's no doubt that there's so much talent in the Chelsea squad, and the simulation predicts that the Argentine would be the perfect person to unlock their potential.
Do you think Pochettino will be a good fit at Chelsea? Let us know in the comments!
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