Chelsea Fires Embattled Manager Roberto Di Matteo

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has never had much patience with his managers, and Roberto Di Matteo is the latest subject of the billionaire’s wrath. Just three months into the season, the Blues are now looking for a new boss.

According to Mirror Football, Blues boss Roman Abramovich has had enough of Di Matteo's inconsistency as a manager, which has seen the team slide from first in the Premiership to third, and has pushed them to the brink of elimination in the Champions League. 

Di Matteo’s tenure at Stamford Bridge ended up being extremely brief. He took over the team in early March of last season after Andre Villas Boas was fired.   

Despite leading Chelsea to its first ever Champions League title, Di Matteo was not immediately rewarded with a permanent position, but his interim tag was eventually removed. Rumors swirled in the summer about Abramovich's interest in former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola as its next coach before Di Matteo's position was made permanent, and now they will continue to dominate headlines. 

At the start of the season, there was no reason to criticize the decision to stay with the Italian manager. The Blues won their first three matches and looked incredibly strong while taking an early lead in the Premier League. 

But recently, the team has struggled to find their early-season form. Draws with Swansea City and Liverpool in addition to defeats at the hands of Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion have dropped the Blues to third in the table.

Qualification for the knockout stage in the Champions League has also not gone smoothly. A loss to Shakhtar Donetsk and an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Juventus pushed the team to the brink of an early European exit. 

This rough patch lasted too long and featured too many poor results for Abramovich to remain patient, and Chelsea will now have to look for its sixth permanent manager in the past five years.