Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed why he dropped Thiago Silva in the FA Cup replay against Aston Villa at the Villa Park.
Pochettino dropped Silva and started an inexperienced defender Benoit Badashile in the game against Aston Villa.
The shock change in the Blues backline came a few days after Thiago Silva's wife Belle Silva dropped a controversial social media teaser asking for change at Chelsea after the Blues' shock home defeat to Wolves at the weekend.
Belle Silva called for a change and overhaul at Chelsea on her X handle - a tweet that was interpreted as a call to sack Mauricio Pochettino.
Before the Aston Villa match, Poch revealed that Thiago Silva came to him to discuss his wife's tweet and they have handled the issue.
Meanwhile, Belle Silva had took to X to apologize for the post after the Argentine revealed he spoke with her husband.
While the pair must have worked their way through Belle's divisive tweet, Poch decided to take a rather strange move to drop Thiago Silva against Aston Villa further fueling speculations they must have not wholly reconciled their differences.
When asked about why he dropped Silva, Poch appeared terse, and replied with a question, 'Why did you ask?'
He then went on to explain that he dropped the player basically for sporting reasons and performance.
"I am a 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."
Asked if there were any other reasons for the Brazilian's axing, Poch replied: "My answer was clear, no?"
Pochettino earlier revealed he met Silva to discuss a "private" matter - assumed to be Isabelle's post on X.
He added: "I am not going to talk in the way we were talking. The important thing is he came and wanted to talk with me."
Chelsea got off the mark against Aston Villa with a resounding 1-3 victory at Villa Park to book their place in the fifth round of the competition.
Goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernandez dismantled Aston Villa's terrific run at home as the Blues returned to winning ways after the Wolves Premier League loss.
Pochettino dropped Silva and started an inexperienced defender Benoit Badashile in the game against Aston Villa.
The shock change in the Blues backline came a few days after Thiago Silva's wife Belle Silva dropped a controversial social media teaser asking for change at Chelsea after the Blues' shock home defeat to Wolves at the weekend.
Belle Silva called for a change and overhaul at Chelsea on her X handle - a tweet that was interpreted as a call to sack Mauricio Pochettino.
Before the Aston Villa match, Poch revealed that Thiago Silva came to him to discuss his wife's tweet and they have handled the issue.
Meanwhile, Belle Silva had took to X to apologize for the post after the Argentine revealed he spoke with her husband.
While the pair must have worked their way through Belle's divisive tweet, Poch decided to take a rather strange move to drop Thiago Silva against Aston Villa further fueling speculations they must have not wholly reconciled their differences.
When asked about why he dropped Silva, Poch appeared terse, and replied with a question, 'Why did you ask?'
He then went on to explain that he dropped the player basically for sporting reasons and performance.
"I am a 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."
Asked if there were any other reasons for the Brazilian's axing, Poch replied: "My answer was clear, no?"
Pochettino earlier revealed he met Silva to discuss a "private" matter - assumed to be Isabelle's post on X.
He added: "I am not going to talk in the way we were talking. The important thing is he came and wanted to talk with me."
Chelsea got off the mark against Aston Villa with a resounding 1-3 victory at Villa Park to book their place in the fifth round of the competition.
Goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson, and Enzo Fernandez dismantled Aston Villa's terrific run at home as the Blues returned to winning ways after the Wolves Premier League loss.