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Chelsea have sacked manager Graham Potter after less than seven months in charge following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.
It was the Englishman’s 11th defeat in 31 games since replacing Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge on 8 September.
Chelsea have dropped to 11th in the Premier League at 12 points outside the top four, having spent more than £550m on new players this season.
The club’s owners said they were “disappointed” to sack Potter.
Chelsea says Potter “has agreed to collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition” and that Bruno Saltor, who worked with Potter at Brighton, will take charge of the team as interim head coach.
In a statement, co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: “We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.”
“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.”
Chelsea host Liverpool in the Premier League on Tuesday and face Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on 12th April.
There have now been 13 managerial changes in the Premier League this season which is three more than in any other previous campaign with Leicester also sacking Brendan Rodgers earlier on Sunday.
‘Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season,” the Chelsea owners added.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead. Boehly said at the time that he fitted “our vision” and had “skills and capabilities that extend beyond the pitch which will make Chelsea a more successful club”.
That indicated Chelsea were looking to pursue a long-term approach in the dugout after sacking Tuchel.
After a promising start of nine games unbeaten, including five successive victories and comfortable qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, things began to unravel just before the break for the World Cup.
The slide began with a 4-1 humbling at his former club Brighton, followed by defeats against Arsenal and Newcastle and a Carabao Cup exit at Manchester City.
They returned from the World Cup break with a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth but won just three of their next 13 league matches.
Potter’s side were also thumped 4-0 at Manchester City in the FA Cup third round in January, but overturned a first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund last month to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
In February, Potter says his mental health suffered after he and his family received anonymous abuse following the club’s poor run of form.
Until his brief reign at Chelsea, Potter had enjoyed managerial success at each of the three clubs he had served.
He led Swedish side Ostersunds from the fourth tier into the top flight with three promotions in five seasons and won the 2017 Swedish Cup, earning a spot in the Europa League and reaching the knockout stages of that competition.
In his one subsequent season with Swansea City in 2018-19, they finished 10th in the Championship following relegation from the top flight and reached the FA Cup quarter-finals where they led Manchester City 2-0 before losing 3-2.
Potter was then recruited by Brighton and after three seasons of steady progress, led them to their highest-ever Premier League finish of ninth last term as well as collecting plenty of praise for their style of play.
They sat fourth in this season’s table when he left for Chelsea in September.
Since his departure, Brighton have continued to thrive under new manager Roberto de Zerbi and are pushing for a European place.
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