ITV commentator Jon Champion delivers brutal takedown of Thiago and Belle Silva during Chelsea’s FA Cup win over Aston Villa…after the Blues defender’s wife appeared to call for Mauricio Pochettino to be SACKED

ITV commentator Jon Champion took a brutal swipe at veteran Chelsea defender Thiago Silva following his wife’s controversial ‘time for change’ social media post during the Blues’ 3-1 win over Aston Villa. 

Mauricio Pochettino‘s team continued to dumbfound, this time in producing a pitch-perfect performance against Unai Emery‘s Champions League-chasers in the FA Cup fourth round replay at Villa Park. 

Goals from Conor Gallagher, Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez earned a much-needed result, off the back of two bruising Premier League defeats that had piled the pressure on the Argentine boss – and motivated Silva’s wife Belle, to post a cryptic rebuke on social media. 

‘It’s time for change. If you wait any longer it will be too late,’ she wrote on X. 

The former Tottenham boss appeared to heed her words and made three alterations for the trip to the West Midlands on Wednesday night, including dropping the 39-year-old to the bench. 

Belle Silva had seemingly called for Mauricio Pochettino’s head after the 4-2 defeat by Wolves

It was not the first time Belle had voiced her displeasure with certain aspects of the club

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The switch, coupled with Chelsea’s marked improvement, was not lost on the Champion, who delivered an hilarious jibe at the pair. 

‘Something needs to change.’ He said during the match coverage. ‘Well, maybe they found the thing. Drop her husband.’

Following talks between Pochettino and the Brazilian, Belle apologised on Wednesday for her remarks. She blamed her ‘outburst’ on being ‘passionate’ and ‘saddened by defeats’, while insisting all she wants is a ‘winning Chelsea team’. 

The Chelsea boss was questioned on his decision to drop Silva to the bench in place of Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi, to which he responded with some annoyance. 

Thiago Silva was dropped to the bench for the Villa clash having played the full 90 minutes of their previous fixture against Wolves

Pochettino responded with a spiky answer when asked why he had dropped Silva for the Villa trip

‘Why the question?,’ he told ITV’s Gabriel Clarke pre-match. ‘I am 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.’

When questioned again on the topic, he spikily added: ‘My answer was clear, no?’

Victory grants some welcome breathing room to the Chelsea manager ahead of trips to Crystal Palace and Manchester City before the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool at Wembley on February 25.