We have reached the halfway point of the Premier League season and it has been an exciting and unpredictable season for Chelsea and the fans in general.
There have been a variety of opinions as to how the Blues will fare this season, but even the most optimistic pundits do not think they have performed well enough to have a chance of topping the table at Christmas.
Sadly, Enzo Maresca’s men blinked at such lofty aspirations and dragged a struggling Everton side down. Then in the next three games, rather than regaining their form, they got worse. They made it four wins without a draw, losing to Fulham, losing to Ipswich and drawing with Crystal Palace.
They are still clinging to a top four spot, but any talk of title aspirations is long gone. Liverpool, who could have been overtaken on that fateful night at Goodison Park, are now eight points clear with a game in hand.
Despite this, title contention was never realistic. Maresca said it himself many times. So what are Chelsea’s real goals this season? A look at the odds (more details can be found here) shows that the Blues are still heavy favorites to qualify for the Champions League. Of course, it helps them that there are likely to be five Premier League teams qualified this year.
We agree with the bookies. We’ve seen enough of this team to think they can get back into gear and win again. But there are also reasons to be nervous.
Not only did Chelsea get an unlucky result, but the statistics show they were immeasurably worse in this poor performance. Losing Wesley Fofana to injury hurt both defensively and their ability to play higher up the pitch. Romeo Rabia’s injury problems haven’t helped keep the midfield fresh either.
And there is competition. Nottingham Forest looks real. Not only are they a dangerous team to play, they are now a real threat to finish in the top four. The same goes for Newcastle, who suddenly look like a great team again with Sandro Tonali returning to midfield. Bournemouth have lost several key players to injury this week but are good enough to cause problems for anyone. We’ll find out in the next Premier League game.
So while a top four (or even five) should still be our target, the last few weeks have shown that nothing can be taken for granted.
