Thomas Tuchel and his Chelsea side are nearing the end of their season, but they are hardly going out with a bang as things stand. With only two wins from their last five games, the Blues are spluttering towards the final game.
The latest difficult experience was a 1-0 defeat to former boss Frank Lampard and his Everton side, where they had little of the ball but managed to frustrate Tuchel’s men. The goal came from a mistake of their own making too, when Cesar Azpilicueta gave the ball away to Richarlison, who finished calmly.
Discussing the game afterwards, the manager claimed he was disappointed by his side: “Very disappointed. We knew what was coming, and like in the last matches, we struggled to have clean sheets. In the last four matches, we have one clean sheet against West Ham, and it is the only win we have. So very disappointed."
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Following their defeat, London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham both managed to win their games to close the gap on Chelsea. The Blues stay in third, but they are only three points ahead of the Gunners in fourth and five ahead of Spurs in fifth.
One thing going in Tuchel’s favour, though, is the fact that both teams have to play each other before the end of the season. This means one of the two, if not both, teams have to drop points.
Looking at each scenario, if both teams were to take maximum points from their games but Arsenal won the derby, they would finish ahead with 75 points accrued and Spurs would finish below with 70. That would mean the Blues would have to earn five points from their final four to guarantee a top-four finish.
In scenario two, where Tottenham wins the derby but both teams pick up maximum points, Antonio Conte would finish ahead with 73 points while Arsenal would finish below with 69 points. This means four points would be enough to stay in the top four.
The final outcome is the one that would require more points for Tuchel, if the match were to end in a draw and the sides earn maximum points. Arsenal would finish ahead with 73 points, while Spurs would finish on 71.
That means, at a maximum, six points would need to be achieved in their final four games to complete a top-four finish. If they manage to do that in their next two games, it could allow them to not only breathe easy, but also rotate ahead of the FA Cup final against Liverpool later this month.
