Back towards the latter stage of last year, Chelsea were many people's somewhat outside-choice to be crowned Premier League champions at the end of the 2021/22 season. Gary Neville said this in October: "I think Chelsea can win the title.
"I know people will say Manchester City or Liverpool, and you can't disagree with that given what they've done over the last three or four years. City's performance at Chelsea a few weeks ago was incredible, but I do feel this Chelsea team are resilient and tough to play against."
Neville's comments came on October 16. Chelsea had just edged past Brentford away from home after a fine performance from Edouard Mendy to climb to the top of the Premier League table, one point above Liverpool and a couple ahead of Man City.
READ MORE: Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea vs Southampton, Real Madrid, Mendy, Kante, Lukaku and more
Almost six months later, things look very different at the top of the Premier League table. In fairness, that was always to be expected.
With eight games left of the season (nine for Chelsea), the title race is between Manchester City and Liverpool. The former are on 73 points, while the latter are on 72 - with the top two going head-to-head on Sunday evening in what could be a title decider at the Etihad Stadium.
Chelsea are some way behind on 59 points, with Thomas Tuchel perhaps looking over his shoulder more than what is in front of him right now. However, the German coach remains confident over the Blues finishing the season in the top four.
"Absolutely confident, but never as a given," Tuchel said on Friday afternoon. "I never thought of this as a given because this is the most demanding league in the world.
"We know where we come from. We know how we struggled through the season and what can make us struggle. I feel in the team that there is nothing bad.
"We can play on a very high level if we reach our top level. We do this very consecutive and repetitive, very often. Very good. This is our job, what we push for."
As we returned to club football from the two-week international break recently, Chelsea still had it all to play for in the remaining matches of the season. The Blues looked like almost a shoo-in to finish in the top four and retain their place in the UEFA Champions League next term.
Tuchel's side also had the task of Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the European competition. They still do, granted, but the challenge has become much more difficult now after slumping to a 3-1 defeat in the first-leg earlier in the week.
Chelsea of course, have the FA Cup semi-final against London rivals Crystal Palace on the horizon, with around eight days until the sides go head-to-head at Wembley. Tuchel will be desperate for his side to have a couple of wins - against Southampton and Real Madrid - under their belt before the short trip to the national stadium.
For Chelsea, it's a stage of the season where they would be hoping for momentum, but the opposite has happened in the penultimate month of the campaign. "It's proven in sports that you can improve fast and grow with a certain momentum if you catch that momentum," were the words of Tuchel just over 12 months ago when talking about the conclusion of the 2020/21 season.
While Liverpool and Man City continue to improve, Chelsea are doing the opposite. The Reds have won their last 10 Premier League matches, while City, who at one stage were 14 points ahead of their title rivals, have been victorious in seven of their last ten league encounters.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have done this for the past few seasons, bar the 2020/21 campaign where Liverpool suffered massively with injury problems, and have set a new precedent in English football. Tuchel, rightly so, has been named in the same breath as them since being appointed Chelsea boss in January 2021.
Tuchel was asked about Chelsea having a "meltdown" on Friday and Liverpool and Man City being able to avoid that sort of form. "Not this season. Liverpool had last season these moments, like when they lost Van Dijk. But in general, this is the gap I'm talking about and what we need to close," he said.
"It is tough because you compare yourself with maybe the best two teams that ever played in the Premier League in terms of consistency. When you compare yourself, you can get frustrated and maybe feel less strong than you actually are.
"But on the other side, there is something to close. There is something that it seems does not happen to these two teams like it can happen to us. The first point is to admit it. The second point is not to get frustrated about it and work on it with a daily process and take your lessons out of it."
A strong finish to this season could be huge in Tuchel's tenure as Chelsea manager. The way the German coach has handled the unprecedented pressure as the manager of the club over the past few weeks has been so impressive.
Nobody, least of all Tuchel, had expected Chelsea's fortunes to turn the way they have over the past week. It's up to the Blues boss now to show his undoubted leadership qualities and lead the club to a strong finish to the season.
