With the March international break now over, the business end of the club campaign is upon us. Premier League clubs have just seven, eight or nine fixtures left to fulfil, while the Champions League and Europa League are both approaching their denouement. At this stage there is still everything to play for both domestically and on the continent, but a few bad results could leave a team’s ambitions in tatters.
More than most of their Premier League rivals, the next couple of months will be pivotal for Chelsea. Maurizio Sarri’s side are three points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal in the race for the two remaining Champions League qualification spots, while they are due to take on Slavia Prague in the quarter-finals of the Europa League next month. Off the field they are also waiting to hear the outcome of their appeal against a two-window transfer ban, which was handed to the west Londoners for breaking FIFA rules regarding the signing of under-18 foreign players. There is also the small matter of Sarri’s future, not to mention the persistent rumours linking star man Eden Hazard with a big-money summer switch to Real Madrid.
At the turn of the year Chelsea held a five-point advantage over Arsenal and an eight-point lead over Manchester United. The top four appeared to be pretty set, with Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Sarri’s side the favourites to qualify for the Champions League. Chelsea’s form has been very poor in 2019, however, with four wins from 10 games leaving them way down in 12th in the calendar-year standings. Newcastle United, West Ham United, Southampton and Burnley have all won more points than the west Londoners since January 1.
The Blues’ patchy form has seen them drop to sixth in the table, a point behind Manchester United and another two behind Arsenal, who currently occupy fourth spot. Having appeared to turn a corner after a much-improved display in the League Cup final against Manchester City and subsequent Premier League successes against Tottenham and Fulham, Sarri’s men slipped up against Everton before the international break and have it all to do once more.
That 2-0 loss at Goodison Park was a game of two halves. Chelsea dominated the opening period but could not break the deadlock, and their profligacy in front of goal proved costly as the hosts found the net twice after the break. Sarri told reporters after the match that the first-half display was the best of his tenure so far, but he admitted to being worried by his team’s collapse in the second 45 minutes.
“It’s [a top-four finish] not impossible,” the former Napoli and Empoli head coach said. “We need to recover only three points so it’s not impossible in eight matches. It’s impossible if we are not able to improve, if we are not able to avoid a second half like that.
“We played probably the best 45 minutes of the season and then suddenly at the beginning of the second half we stopped playing – I don’t know why. We were in trouble.
“The situation was clear – it’s clear the problem is not a physical problem, if it was physical you would go down gradually, not in one second. It’s probably a mental block.”
Chelsea can ill-afford any more mental blocks between now and the end of the season in mid-May. Sarri is right that a three-point gap is bridgeable, and his side have the chance to climb back into the top four with two wins in the next few days: after taking on Cardiff City on Sunday, Chelsea face Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek. If other results go their way, they could head into next weekend above both Arsenal and United.
However, anything less than six points against two bottom-half teams would not be acceptable for a club with Chelsea’s ambitions. Cardiff have lost exactly half of their 16 matches in front of their own fans this term, with Spurs, Arsenal, United and Manchester City all getting the job done in south Wales. Brighton, meanwhile, have consistently struggled on the road since their promotion to the Premier League, although they did beat rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park earlier this month.
Sarri will know that results in the next few weeks are likely to determine his future, and Chelsea must kick-start this crunch period with wins against Cardiff and Brighton.
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