Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali was pictured running away from supporters after being confronted following their 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa.
The Blues’ rotten run of form continued at Stamford Bridge as Ollie Watkins’ second-half strike condemned Mauricio Pochettino’s side to their third defeat of the season. It means Chelsea remain with one win and five points from six matches in the Premier League this term and currently sit down in 14th.
Chelsea were subsequently booed off as they also failed to score a goal for the third successive match. Eghbali, who co-owns the Blues alongside Todd Boehly, was said to have entered the dressing room to address his players following another disappointing performance from the Blues.
And after the match, a clip emerged on social media which some Chelsea fans could be seen running after Eghbali and demanding answers. The Blues co-owner, however, managed to evade the frustrated supporters and got into a black car, helped by a security guard.
Chelsea’s form has been below-par since Boehly and Eghbali took over from Roman Abramovich in 2022, despite spending over £1billion on transfers. Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo have both arrived in deals worth more than £100m, while Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Marc Cucurella also list among their most expensive buys.
But performances on the pitch have left a lot to be desired. In fact, Chelsea have picked up just seven wins in all competitions in 2023 as their on-pitch struggles continue.
The Blues fanbase are disgruntled with the way Chelsea are performing and Pochettino admitted that his players need to “grow up”. This was also after Malo Gusto was sent off and Nicolas Jackson picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will be suspended for their next game.
“We’ve been talking – and I think we need to grow up as a team, not only as individuals. Players like Nicolas are so young and feeling the Premier League and he is learning.
“We are competing and want to win – but players need to learn from experience and from making mistakes. That’s why we’re disappointed – we’ve got too many things like this. These things, this small detail – another small detail – end in the end we are losing a game. We are in a situation – and we need to change it as soon as possible.”
Asked about the reaction from the owners, Pochettino added: “Of course, they’re disappointed. They arrived at the club and were so excited to build this project and, of course, they feel disappointed. Regardless, they need to support the plan.”