Chelsea technical and performance advisor Petr Cech believes the Blues are relying on a "meltdown" from Manchester City and Liverpool to stand any chance of winning the Premier League.
The Blues are fully focused on domestic matters after their dramatic Champions League elimination at the hands of Real Madrid. Thomas Tuchel's side were 10 minutes from a comeback victory before Rodrygo levelled things up on aggregate and Karim Benzema sent the Spanish side through, leaving defender Antonio Rudiger looking for the positives.
Cech was in the Chelsea team that won the club's first Champions League back in 2012, and won four Premier League titles before leaving for Arsenal in 2015. However, he is remaining realistic when it comes to the task ahead.
"Unfortunately we have a points deficit in the league table, so obviously it’s going to be difficult to think about the title because it’s completely out of our hands," Cech wrote in his column for the Chelsea website. "We will need to rely on Liverpool and City to have a meltdown."
Chelsea currently sit 11 points second-place Liverpool and 12 behind league leaders City. They have a game in hand on the teams above them, but are running out of matches to make up the gap.
Tuchel's men return to Premier League action against Arsenal on Wednesday, but first have an FA Cup semi-final ahead of them. Cech pointed to the extra rest enjoyed by opponents Crystal Palace, and refused to consider the result a foregone conclusion.
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"It’s definitely not an easy game because for them it’s a historical moment, so they will obviously go there and try to make the most of it and their fans will surely enjoy it," the former Czech international said. "So we need to be prepared and we’ve played on many, many occasions at Wembley, and many FA Cup semi-finals overall, so we know what it takes and hopefully we can reach another final.
Palace will be without Conor Gallagher for the game at Wembley, with Chelsea refusing permission for the on-loan England midfielder to play against his parent club. Tuchel sympathised with the youngster, and admitted he apologised to him in person for the situation.
"I had the chance to speak to Conor and I could also see his frustration," the German explained. "We met weeks ago by coincidence in a restaurant after the international break and we had a chat, and the subject came up.
"I apologised because I know how competitive he is and I like him a lot," the former PSG boss continued. "I know his character very well and it was a pleasure to have him here in pre-season.
"It's the way it is. We play to win the game and the rules were clear when we made the loan, and I can totally understand Patrick Viera and also the disappointment of Conor of course. But these were the rules when we did the loan and we don't want to suffer from our rules."
