Good news for Chelsea at the moment is worryingly scarce, but there is one positive that supporters can look forward too and that is the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino. The former Tottenham boss has agreed a deal to become the next permanent manager of the club, football.london understands.
The final details of his contract were reportedly completed nearly two weeks ago, and in that time, Chelsea have picked up one point from a possible nine. Granted they have played both Manchester clubs away from home in the past four days, but the performances from each game were vastly different.
At Etihad Stadium, despite a mistake seeing them concede an early goal, the Blues controlled large parts of the contest. However, at Old Trafford, Chelsea were beaten comfortably by United with Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all on target before Joao Felix scored from the bench.
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Despite losing the clash, there was one positive for Chelsea that Pochettino can definitely take into the start of his managerial reign. Carney Chukwuemeka, who was denied being allowed to leave the club to play for England at the U20 World Cup, started against United in what looked to be an advanced midfield role, which may have given Pochettino the perfect plan for his development.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Argentine had Christian Eriksen at his disposal and Chukwuemeka is certainly capable of occupying that same role in west London. On numerous occasions, Chukwuemeka showcased his running power with the ball at his feet, but it was his passing stats that caught the eye.
According to MozoFootball, he completed more successful attacking third passes (16/18) than any other player for either Chelsea or Man United inside the first 45 minutes. He was also 100% on his take-ons (2/2), long balls (1/1) and ground duel battles (5/5).
A start or at the very least a prominent role in the final few games for Chukwuemeka should've been expected given the decision Chelsea made last week. The 19-year-old was prevented from travelling to Argentina for the group stage of the World Cup due to injuries in midfield for the Blues, but he could still feature if the Three Lions reach the knockout stages.
Explaining the situation before the Man United clash, interim boss Frank Lampard said: "He's a Chelsea player and we've got injuries in that area. The situation with Carney is he's come into a club, a big move for him, and this season hasn't managed to get so many minutes, the size of the squad, and settling in at a new club. Hopefully, there's an opportunity in these three games for him. He's our player, and we have lost players, so we need him to stay.
"There's a possibility he can join up at the end of the season if the team get through into the next stages. It might be the best of both worlds in an ideal way but it's our player and we had to make that decision. I felt a bit for Carney, he was keen to go but at the same time what happened meant he had to stay."
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