“I’m so proud of the players,” said Pochettino

Chelsea defeated Bournemouth 2-1 to close out the 2023–24 campaign and ensure our spot in the European football league for the following campaign.

After the final whistle blew, the players honored the retiring Thiago Silva with a guard of honor before gathering around the center circle to hear the legendary defender address the audience.

Following the Brazilian’s moving speech, the players spent time chatting and hugging other players as well as staff members. This season has seen us play well into the top four after the first 10 games.

At the end of the game, you can see players who have played more, players who have played less, and players who were injured. I thought it was very nice how they came to hug me, talking about the relationships we have, where sometimes we are tough with them and sometimes we make our own decisions, but we feel so proud of the way they have the right idea and the way they are working. Pochettino expressed his happiness and pride in the players.

“They always respect us and believe in the way we present in our job and the way we work, even during the toughest moments during the season.”

Raheem Sterling netted his tenth goal of the year, and Moises Caicedo scored from just inside the opposition half as Chelsea defeated Bournemouth for the fifth time in a row.

In recent months, Chelsea has only lost one game more than Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Arsenal, despite an injury record that occasionally included 14 first team players.

“I am happy for my staff and for my players,” stated Pochettino. I am quite pleased with their efforts to raise our standards and levels over the course of over ten months, considering the challenging conditions we have encountered. They truly deserve all the praise for this.

Additionally, for the staff, who battled daily to guide the players and give them the finest resources possible so they could perform.

“We should be proud of the way we have played over the last 27 or 28 games.”

Chelsea has surpassed teams like Manchester United and Newcastle United in recent months, moving up to sixth place. We are now just three points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth place and five points ahead of Aston Villa in the Champions League spots.

Pochettino emphasized, though, that “we are not going to celebrate [finishing sixth] because we know Chelsea’s history.” However, this is just the beginning of bigger things to come.

He said, “We have already built and consolidated the basis, and from there, we have to improve,” in response to a question concerning the next stages.

“We have a young squad, but they have more Premier League experience now, so we need to improve for next season.”