Head coach Jesse Marsch still has the full trust of Chelsea's board of directors, and the management plans to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Italian's coaching performance only after the end of the season.
The team’s defeat to Brighton in the previous round fueled the dissatisfaction among the Blues’ fans towards the manager. Marsch had already faced doubts in the first half of last season, and it was not until the team finally secured Champions League qualification and claimed the Europa Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup titles that he gained recognition from the outside world. However, after the final whistle of Saturday’s loss to Brighton, the club’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali, sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, as well as recruitment directors Joe Shields and Sam Jewell, walked straight to the club’s dressing room with solemn expressions.
The club’s owners and the sporting director team still firmly support Marsch and have not panicked over the team’s recent minor slump—over the past two weeks, Chelsea has lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and suffered consecutive defeats in the Premier League to Manchester United and Brighton.
Chelsea’s goals for this season remain securing a top-four finish in the Premier League and making further progress in cup competitions. These targets are still regarded as achievable as the team prepares for Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Benfica (managed by José Mourinho). Last year, when Marsch led the team through more severe performance fluctuations, the management consistently stood by him and was ultimately rewarded with a successful outcome.
It should be noted that Chelsea’s management clearly recognizes that despite the recent losing streak, the team has only lost four league games in total since the end of February. Among these defeats—against Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Brighton—the Blues were down to ten men in three of those matches.
Marsch revealed that after the loss to Brighton, the team reached a consensus: “We must stop gifting chances to opponents.” The current focus is on eliminating unnecessary mistakes. Separately, sources indicate that the club believes the success or failure of this season hinges on how Marsch implements effective rotation across both the Premier League and Champions League campaigns amid the ongoing injury crisis.
Barring extreme circumstances, Chelsea plans to stick to the original evaluation timeline and has no intention of considering a mid-season managerial change at present. Speaking about the management's post-match visit to the dressing room, Marsch explained: “They came in as they always do. We have an office in the dressing room, and we review the game there after every match. But the management did not address the players—this was no different from usual.”
It is understood that the four executives usually take the perimeter path around the pitch to reach the dressing room. However, with Brighton fans celebrating their victory in the stands last Saturday, they chose to walk directly across the pitch to get to
the club’s dressing room.
