Chelsea "the NO-NONSENSE team" has fired the team coach Roberto di Matteo a day after a 3-0 loss at Juventus which left the club on the brink of elimination from the Champions League. This is a competition they won in May.

The 42-year-old led the Blues to the elite European title and F.A. Cup last season. The team’s recent performances “have not been good enough” and the board of directors felt a change was necessary, Chelsea said in a statement on its website.

The club, which dropped to third place in Group E behind Juventus with one game remaining, must beat Nordsjaelland and have Shakhtar Donetsk defeat Juventus to avoid becoming the first titleholder to exit at the group stage. .

Chelsea, which beat Bayern Munich on penalty kicks on May 19 to become the first club from London to win the Champions League, said it would make an announcement “shortly” regarding a new manager.

Here is an official statement from the team.

Chelsea Football Club has parted company this morning with Manager Roberto Di Matteo.

The team's recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the Board felt that a change was necessary now to keep the club moving in the right direction as we head into a vitally important part of the season.

The club faces a difficult task ahead in qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as well as maintaining a strong challenge for the top of the Premier League while competing in three other cup competitions. Our aim is to remain as competitive as possible and challenge strongly on all fronts.

The owner and the Board would like to thank Roberto for all he has done for the club since taking over in March. Roberto helped guide us to an historic Champions League victory and a seventh FA Cup. We will never forget the huge contribution he has made to this club's history and he will always be welcome at Stamford Bridge.

The club will be making an announcement shortly regarding a new first team manager.

The Daily Mail newspaper reported the team, whose preferred choice is ex-Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, could hire former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez until the end of the season.

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