Chelsea have confirmed the sacking of manager Graham Potter after just seven months in charge following a poor string of results.
Saturday’s 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa dropped Chelsea to 11th place in the Premier League table, despite spending over £500 million ($616 million) on new players this season.
Former Brighton defender Bruno Saltor has been put in charge of the team in the interim.
Chelsea have won just three of their last eleven games, but have advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals, where they will face reigning champions Real Madrid.
This tie may have been the deciding factor for the club’s new American owners to pull the trigger now, 10 days before the first leg in Madrid.
“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-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.
“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.”
An improbable run to the club’s third European Cup now appears to be Chelsea’s only path back into the Champions League next season, as they are 12 points off the pace in the Premier League.
In their first season in charge, the consortium led by LA Dodgers co-owner Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital fires their second manager.
Thomas Tuchel, who was named Bayern Munich manager last week, was dismissed in September, less than a year after guiding Chelsea to the Champions League title.
Brighton was compensated £21.5 million by Chelsea so that they could hire Potter.
However, this amount pales in comparison to the vast sums the club has spent on players over the past year with little return.
In January, the Argentine World Cup champion Enzo Fernandez was acquired for a new English transfer record of £106 million, along with Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, and Raheem Sterling.
However, Potter has struggled to find a winning combination, switching formations and personnel without success.
The 47-year-old won only 12 of his 31 matches in charge and was booed by the Chelsea faithful following the weekend loss to Villa.
“I don’t like to blame anybody, I have to take responsibility,” said Potter after that match.
“We can feel the pain of the supporters… I understand when you lose at home, the emotion of the game is such that people are going to be disappointed and frustrated and angry.
“Where we are in the league table, no one’s happy with. Whatever criticism comes I have to accept.”
Tuesday will be Saltor’s first match in charge, when Liverpool visits Stamford Bridge.
