Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali reportedly entered the dressing room after the Blues suffered yet another Premier League defeat. Mauricio Pochettino’s dismal side were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge as their poor run continued.
Ollie Watkins’ second-half strike against 10-man Chelsea was enough to seal a third defeat of the season for the hosts. Pochettino has urged for patience from the Stamford Bridge hierarchy after a terrible start to the campaign.
Eghbali, Todd Boehly and the remainder of the Chelsea board have spent over £1billion since they completed their takeover in May 2022. That includes twice breaking the British transfer record in the last nine months on midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.
But another reverse at home to Villa has prompted the BlueCo ownership group to confront the issues inside the Chelsea dressing room. It is claimed that Egbhali addressed the players after Sunday’s defeat.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Eghbali entered the dressing room to speak with the players. It is reported that the co-owner gave his full backing to Pochettino and wants the Argentine to be the ‘face’ of their expensive project.
Pochettino admitted there was disappointment among the ownership. He revealed: “Of course they are disappointed but at the same time they need to support the plan.”
Eghbali and Boehly made a habit of entering the dressing room last season, with fans’ opinions split over the hands-on approach. Boehly is widely claimed to have told his players that last season was “embarrassing” following a defeat against Brighton.
Pochettino insisted upon his appointment in the summer that the co-owners would only be granted access to the dressing room with his permission.
“Of course for me, more than welcome if the owner comes to the dressing room, to the training ground, but like I said, always they need to communicate myself, I need to know and to prepare, you know, the people, because here it’s really special this type of thing in England,” he said prior to the season starting.
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