Chelsea’s Champions League hopes have vanished as the blues suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Newcastle, who had lost there previous four Premier League games prior to yesterday.
Dwight Gayle gave the Magpies the lead after only 23 minutes, struggling Chelsea found it almost impossible to create any sort of chances in that time and were boxed in their half for large parts of the half. It didn’t get any better for the damaged blues in the second half as Perez scored a five-minute brace to leave Chelsea’s players pondering on how they got themselves into this position.
My opinion on the game was that it was a lacklustre display from a group of players who had one-eye on the FA Cup Final and the World Cup. I also couldn’t understand why Antonio Conte didn’t start Willian, Marcos Alonso and Rüdiger, who have been so influential for Chelsea this season, in a potentially vital game. And I do believe that there has to be changes this summer, whether that be managerial or a squad overhaul.
Victory would have changed nothing
Chelsea needed Liverpool to lose to Brighton yesterday to have any chance of capturing Champions League football, however, the reds swept aside the seagulls with a 4-0 obliteration.
Therefore, even if Chelsea had beaten Newcastle 5-0, it wouldn’t have changed the end outcome. But that does not change the pure embarrassment of not only loosing to a club such as Newcastle, but also by such a huge score line, with fans left disappointed and shocked with the lack of effort displayed by the Chelsea players.
How this will affect Chelsea’s summer plans
Well the fact is, nowadays, the top players all want to play Champions League football. So the question is, will Chelsea playing in the Europa League effect their transfer plans and bringing in the players they want? The answer is yes it will affect it.
However, Chelsea is Chelsea, a club with huge success, especially in recent years and I’m sure most players will be able to look past this short term problem. Another reason I believe this is because two years ago the blues were in a worse situation, not playing any European football, after finishing 10th in Mourinho’s last season in charge, but still managed to bring in players such as N’Golo Kante, David Luiz etc. Both of which would have been playing CL football with their previous clubs.
So I say to all Chelsea fans worried about the clubs current affairs, remain calm, we’ve been in worse positions, and like always, it will get better!
