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Opinion

Chelsea Continue Their Journey Away From Top Four With Another Defeat

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How bad can things get for Chelsea? This is the question on the lips of most football enthusiasts, especially the fans of the club.

Chelsea coach Graham Potter.

Chelsea coach Graham Potter.

The performance of the club especially in the ongoing season has been so abysmal that some sections of the club’s fans have started calling for the sack of their new coach, Graham Potter.

Potter was performing magic at Brighton earlier this season with a very low budget as he inspired the team to a spot in the top four. Hence, Chelsea’s new owners led by Todd Boehly thought Potter would do better than Thomas Tuchel, a coach that helped them to win the Champions League in 2021.

So far, that deal has proven to be a big mistake for both Brighton and Chelsea. Brighton are now sitting in the 8th spot on the league table with 27 points in 17 games without Potter.

While at Chelsea where Potter has a bigger budget with some of the best players in the world, the English tactician is struggling like never before.

On Thursday night, Chelsea hosted the reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City with the hope of grabbing at least a point to close the gap between them and the top four teams. Unfortunately, that was not to be as Chelsea continued with their losing streak.

Last night, Chelsea succeeded in holding off Manchester City for the first 45 minutes but that changed in the second half as a substitute, Riyad Mahrez scored the lone goal in the 63rd minute.

The 1-0 home defeat to Manchester City means that coach Graham Potter and his boys have recorded just 6 points in 8 Premier League games so far.

They are now sitting on the 10th spot on the Premier League table with 25 points in 17 games, a whopping 10 points away from the top four.

How tough are things for Chelsea currently?

Chelsea coach Graham Potter.

File photo of Chelsea coach Graham Potter.

With the way the season is going, Chelsea are in the toughest season in their recent history. They have a very slim hope of finishing in the top four based on their run in the league so far.

Currently, the top-four is made up of Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Manchester United in that order. 5th placed Tottenham and 6th placed Liverpool are battling to break into the top four.

Hence, the only way up for Chelsea is to keep winning games which is something that has proven to be very difficult for Graham Potter and his boys so far.

Note that Chelsea have managed to record just 7 wins in 17 games so far. The remaining games ended in 4 draws and 6 defeats.

Amidst the poor run of games, Chelsea is battling an injury crisis. Top stars at the club like Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic joined Chelsea’s long injury list last night.

Other injured superstars at Stamford Bridge are N’Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Edouard Mendy, Armando Broja, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, and Wesley Fofana.

With the absence of these big-name players, it is almost impossible for Chelsea to make up for the ten points deficit they are currently bedeviled with. Hence, a miracle is needed at Stamford Bridge for a change of fortune.

What next for Graham Potter?

Sack? Well, that is not too far away based on the current run of things. Note that between last summer and now, Chelsea have spent over £300 million on signing new players. Hence, their current form will be difficult to accept despite their injury woes.

With the history of Chelsea sacking coaches at every given opportunity, it will be a big surprise if Potter stays at the club for five more games if things continue this way.

Before the potential sack, Potter has to face Manchester City again but this time around, in the FA Cup third round at 17:30 on Sunday, January 8, 2022.

After that, Chelsea will resume their Premier League campaign by traveling to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham at 21:00 on Thursday, January 12.

If Graham Potter fails to inspire Chelsea to win those two games, it will be a miracle if Todd Boehly keeps the coach on the job until their next game against Crystal Palace on Sunday, January 15.