Troubled Chelsea had to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw against Bournemouth on Sunday as their dismal start to the Premier League season showed no sign of improvement.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side have won just once in five league games this term and they were booed off after lacking any semblance of a cutting edge at the Vitality Stadium.
The Blues are without a goal in their last two matches and have scored only five times in the league this season.
They are languishing in 14th place, closer to the relegation zone than the top four, as Pochettino comes to terms with the size of the task facing him at Stamford Bridge.
The former Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain boss was hired in the close-season to clean up the mess left by Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard, who all had spells in charge of Chelsea during last season’s wretched campaign.
But Pochettino has so far been unable to make an impact despite Chelsea’s £350 million spending spree on new signings.
A rash of untimely injuries haven’t helped but Chelsea’s decision to largely sign younger players has left Pochettino with an inexperienced squad that lacks the maturity to close out games.
Challenging for a place in the Champions League was Pochettino’s target this season, but that ambition already seems overly optimistic on the evidence of this drab display against winless Bournemouth.
While it is too soon to say Pochettino is in danger of the sack, he will be well aware Potter lasted less than seven months before being sacked by co-owner Todd Boehly.