Mauricio Pochettino, the manager of Chelsea, gave a sharp reply when asked about his choice to bench Thiago Silva for their FA Cup match against Aston Villa.
Thiago Silva has been a significant topic of discussion following Sunday’s disappointing 4-2 loss to Wolves at Stamford Bridge, especially after his wife Isabelle seemed to suggest on social media that Pochettino should be replaced.
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Posting on X after the final whistle, she said: ‘It’s time to change. If you wait any longer it will be too late.’
She has since offered an apology for her contentious post, attributing her “outburst” to being “passionate” and “disheartened by defeats,” while affirming her desire for a “successful Chelsea team.”
Despite playing the entire 90 minutes and scoring a late goal against Wolves, Silva found himself on the bench for the Villa match, with Pochettino opting for Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi as center-backs instead.
In a pre-game interview, Pochettino was questioned about his decision and appeared unimpressed.
‘Why the question?,’ he responded to ITV’s Gabriel Clarke. ‘I am professional and a coach and I always pick my players because of performance and balance.
‘I think I understand the question but I want to be calm because I need to be professional and I always make my decisions because of the professional side.’
When questioned again on the topic, he added: ‘My answer was clear, no?’
During his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Pochettino disclosed that Silva approached him directly following Isabelle’s social media post to resolve any potential tension between them.
Pochettino declined to elaborate on the specifics of their discussion, deeming it a “private” matter that had been addressed prior to training.
‘He came today to talk with me,’ he said. ‘I am not going to talk in the way we were talking. The important thing is he came and wanted to talk with me.
‘He knows me after more than 10 years, who I am, we are a very strong coaching staff and the way we operate. Of course he came to talk. We talked. It was private. And that’s it.’
