Chelsea fans love Thiago Silva, but statistics suggest they are better off without him

Statistics show that Chelsea have had more success this season when fan favorite Thiago Silva is not in the team.

He veteran center back He is highly regarded at Stamford Bridge after a series of great performances since signing in 2020, winning the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Despite his extensive experience, Silva was named on the bench by Chelsea in the FA Cup fourth round replay 3-1 victory against Aston Villa, but came into the game during the last ten minutes.

However, his recent omission came after his wife Belle took to social media towards the end of their 4-2 defeat to Wolves and called on Mauricio Pochettino to leave the club.

Pochettino, who insisted that he selects his players “based on performance and balance”, and Silva has since maintained clear conversationswith Bella issuing an apology before Chelsea's victory.

Blues fans in the away ground at Villa Park chanted his name throughout the game, with the 39-year-old hugely popular in west London.

However, after Wednesday night's crucial victory, the statistics show that Chelsea tend to do better when Silva is not in the team.

According to WhoScored.comIn all competitions this season, the defender has started 25 games and has been left out of the first eleven on seven occasions.

Chelsea's win rate with his participation is 36 percent, a far cry from the 86 percent when he was sidelined.

The Blues have also lost 40 percent of the games he has played, and their figure dropped to just 14 percent without him.

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While Silva's appearances have seen them score an average of 1.72 goals per game compared to 1.71, it is his efforts to stop conceding that are greatly improved when he does not feature.

Chelsea concedes 0.71 goals per game without the Brazilian and when he plays it increases to 1.72.

Of course, correlation does not always mean causation and there could be other factors at play.

Silva has made 145 appearances for the Blues throughout his four seasons at the club, proving to be a consistently reliable asset in defence.

Without him on Wednesday night, Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson scored to put Chelsea 2-0 up at half-time before a stunning Enzo Fernandez free-kick sealed their place in the FA Cup fifth round.

Moussa Diaby came back for Villa in injury time but it was not enough to inspire a comeback as Chelsea host Leeds in the next round as they desperately chase silverware this season.