Mauricio Pochettino came out fighting after Chelsea outclassed Aston Villa to breeze into the FA Cup fifth round.
Enzo Fernandez’s stunning free kick sealed a 3-1 victory and set up last-16 tie against Leeds at Stamford Bridge.
First-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson put Chelsea in control of the fourth round replay and they cruised to victory, despite Moussa Diaby’s injury-time consolation.
Chelsea had come to Villa Park in disarray on the back of 4-1 and 4-2 defeats to Liverpool and Wolves – leaving them 11th in the Premier League.
But Pochettino insists they cannot be compared to the dominant side from the Roman Abramovich era which won five Premier League titles – despite spending over £1billion under owner Todd Boehly.
He said: “We need to stop this thing that we are Chelsea from 20 years ago. We are not this type of Chelsea anymore. Now we need to move on and we need to create this project.
“We need to move on, I don’t care if people are happy or not happy with my speech. I care for the club, I care for my players, I want to help the players.
“We are going to fight, I don’t care what the people say. I’m not more sad or happy today after a win because we have experience, this type of project needs time and trust.
“We cannot build a team to challenge because you need to fix too many things, you need to observe, analyse and compete.
“We are building a project which may be one year, two years, three years.
“Today you can see we were ready to fight. We fight for the fans, the badge, the coaching staff. Now the challenge is to be consistent.”
Just as the Chelsea fans sung for former owner Abramovich the visitors took the lead after 11 minutes.
Jackson and Noni Madueke combined to tee up Gallagher to find the top corner for his first goal of the season.
Ten minutes later it was 2-0 as Chelsea tore Villa apart down the right and Malo Gusto’s perfect cross was nodded in by Jackson.
There was barely a response from the hosts – who lost their 11-month unbeaten home league run to Newcastle last week – and Emi Martinez saved Cole Palmer’s effort as Chelsea looked for a third.
They found it nine minutes after the break when Fernandez, having been lucky to earn a foul off Youri Tielemans, curled a brilliant 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.
Villa were beaten but managed a consolation in stoppage time when Diaby’s strike went in off both posts and they now welcome a resurgent Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
Boss Unai Emery said: “We were excited and motivated and we started well, we didn’t score but we were feeling good.
“When they were getting in our box we were not being strong and they were affecting us. They got into our box with some crosses and were clinical.
“I was more or less feeling the difference was the clinical way for them.
“We scored a little bit late and had no time to score the second goal. We have to accept and analyse the match. To beat them is not easy when you’re not being clinical.”
Arteta hails 'phenomenal' Arsenal drive to take Man City all the way
Mikel Arteta hailed the "phenomenal" drive shown by his Arsenal side to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners moved one point clear of City at the Premier League summit on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
City have a chance to restore their advantage when they travel to Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham on Tuesday, before then hosting West Ham.
Regardless of what happens in midweek, Arsenal will go into their final game of the campaign at home to Everton with the title battle still alive.
Speaking to BBC Sport after his side's latest win, Arteta said: "It is a phenomenal thing they are doing."
However, Arteta was not entirely pleased with the manner of his side's slender victory, even if they were good value for the win overall.
"We weren't composed, clean enough, consistent enough and were unable to do the simple things right," he said. "That doesn't give you control.
"Some of the players have not been in this position; they don't know what is at stake and how you feel emotionally to have to win and win and win from December or January."
Arsenal's win was just their second in 17 Premier League trips to Old Trafford, most recently coming out on top in November 2020.
Lenadro Trossard scored what proved to be the winner with 20 minutes played, tapping in from close range after being set up by Kai Havertz.
"We needed a result today in a really difficult place," Arteta added. "Our history was not in favour of a result today.
"There was so much at stake and we're happy with the result. We started the game really well and were dominant.
"We scored the goal and I think the goal led to slightly bad things because we started to play too safe, too sideways, too backwards with not enough structure.
"We started to give the ball away in good areas and that is a danger against them. But we defended well and didn't concede too much."
Arsenal now find themselves cheering on Tottenham against City, knowing that anything other than a win for Pep Guardiola's men will leave their title fate in their own hands.
Asked if he will be watching that game, Arteta said: "We will be sat watching and it’s true we need the result in order to achieve [the title]. In football there are always possibilities."
Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game
Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel opted on Sunday to quietly slip into the changing rooms instead of joining his players to celebrate after the Bavarians beat Wolfsburg 2-0.
Tuchel will be leaving at the end of the season – a year earlier than his contract ends – following a disappointing campaign with no silverware.
The win came four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without a trophy in over a decade.
"These are the moments for the players," he said when asked why he did not join his squad who went in front of the Bayern ultras after their final home game of the season.
"I don't want to be in the spotlight there. That's for the team. I know that the cameras are there.
"I prefer to go in [to the changing rooms]. It is about the team. The fans are there for the team. They need to be celebrated."
There has been little to celebrate for Tuchel in his 14 months in charge, with Bayern having managed to win only the Bundesliga title last season after Borussia Dortmund slipped up on the final matchday.
He said he did not yet know what he would take away from his time at Bayern, who missed out on Bundesliga glory to Bayer Leverkusen this term.
"Last home game and what remains I don't really know," he said. "It will take some time to see what is left.
"It is a privilege to coach at this level. I came to win as many titles as possible. We did not succeed in that."
Juventus 1-1 Salernitana: Late Rabiot goal salvages home draw
Juventus snatched a 1-1 draw at home to relegated Salernitana courtesy of a late Adrien Rabiot goal that cancelled out a first-half header from Niccolo Pierozzi in Serie A on Sunday.
Juve are fourth on 67 points with two matches left, six points ahead of Atalanta, who have two games in hand.
Salernitana shocked the Allianz Stadium as unmarked Pierozzi headed home after 27 minutes following a corner.
But Juventus dominated the rest of the match and equalised in stoppage time when Rabiot slid the ball home at the back post after a corner was flicked on.
Bottom side Salernitana were doomed to the drop last month.
Juve play in the Italian Cup final against Atalanta on Wednesday in an effort to save a disappointing season and stop their winless streak at six matches in all competitions.
Data Debrief: Another stalemate for Juve
Juventus were grateful for a point come full-time, albeit it was a poor result in the grand scheme of things. Juve have now draw five successive matches in Serie A for the first time since between April and May 2009.
In fact, only Heidenheim of the Bundesliga (10) have drawn more matches than Juventus have (nine from 18 games) across Europe's top five leagues in 2024.
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