Any pressure Mauricio Pochettino was feeling at Chelsea will have only been exacerbated by another disappointing Premier League defeat at the weekend.
The Blues lost 1-0 to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge, albeit having been down to ten men for much of the second half after Malo Gusto's red card, but it proved another frustrating game for the Chelsea manager.
It was a third straight match in which Chelsea have failed to score, adding to a goalless draw with Bournemouth and a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, the latter also at Stamford Bridge.
It's been a disastrous opening seven games for Pochettino after a massive summer overhaul of his squad, but how does his Stamford Bridge start compare to his predecessors Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel?
Mauricio Pochettino's start at Chelsea
The Argentine has only helped Chelsea to two wins in his opening seven games - a 3-0 win over lowly Luton Town and a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over League Two AFC Wimbledon. There have been two draws against Liverpool and Bournemouth, and three defeats to West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
Chelsea's performances have been largely underwhelming, if not terrible, often looking disjointed and blunt. The main issue has been scoring goals, with the Blues registering just seven in as many games, five of which came in victories. There have been three games in which Chelsea have failed to score, with their Premier League xG sitting at a smidgen under 12 despite them having netted just five times in the league.
They have only let in seven under Pochettino, only conceding more than one against West Ham in a 3-1 defeat, highlighting just how significant their profligacy has been to their lack of points.
Graham Potter's start at Chelsea
Despite how the short-lived Graham Potter era ended at Stamford Bridge, things started brightly. The former Brighton & Hove Albion boss won five of his opening seven games in all competitions, beating AC Milan twice, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa.
Those five successive wins were sandwiched between draws with RB Salzburg and Brentford, but what was particularly noticeable was Chelsea's defensive solidity. Potter's side conceded just twice, mainly playing with a back three, managing five clean sheets in the process against some tough opponents.
A big difference was also the number of goals Chelsea were able to score early in Potter's reign. While those goals dried up towards the end of his time at the club, the Blues managed 13 in his first seven - just under two a game. Compared to Pochettino's one goal per game average, it's a significant difference, and one that helped Chelsea win some tight affairs.
Of the ten different goalscorers during Potter's first seven games, only five of them remain at the club, with the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz all having departed. The personnel brought into replace them haven't been clinical enough.
Thomas Tuchel's start at Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel made a remarkably similar start to life at Chelsea as his successor Potter did. The German also won five of his opening seven, similarly sandwich between two draws, while conceding just two goals as well.
In fact, Tuchel's first defeat as Chelsea boss wouldn't come until his 15th game, while Pochettino's came in his second and Potter's in his tenth.
Despite only scoring two more goals than Pochettino's Chelsea, Tuchel enjoyed far more success. This came a s a result of the solid defensive foundations he immediately built when arriving at the club, with the Blues keeping three clean sheets in his first three games.
While Pochettino clearly has issues with his side's ruthlessness in front of goal, fingers also need to be pointed at his defensive unit. Admittedly, Chelsea have had a number of injuries across the backline, including the likes of Reece James and Wesley Fofana, but they have also been far too easy to play through.
This was perfectly exemplified in the opening half-an-hour of the season against Liverpool, where the Reds found it far too straightforward to find space in central areas and make runs off the back of the defensive three. While this can be excused in the first game of the campaign, Chelsea's defence looks similarly fragile over a month into the new term.
Overall, Pochettino has endured a much poorer start to life at Stamford Bridge than those that came before him, and given how quickly Todd Boehly dispensed of them when results started to get ugly, the new Chelsea boss needs to get his act together fast.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mauricio Pochettino's start at Chelsea compared to Graham Potter & Thomas Tuchel.
