Chelsea's Premier League season has imploded spectacularly over the past two months.
The Blues were fifth in the table after winning 4-1 at Aston Villa on Wednesday, March 4, just three points behind third-place Manchester United.
Fast forward to the present day and Chelsea are ninth after six straight Premier League defeats, having not even scored a league goal in that run until Joao Pedro's consolation against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Chelsea's last hope of Champions League qualification this season
The Blues' horrific form led to the sacking of manager Liam Rosenior last month, with Calum McFarlane installed as interim head coach until the end of the season.
The Scot led Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final in his first game and has the chance to claim silverware against Manchester City in the final on May 16.
Winning the FA Cup would see the West London club qualify for next season's Europa League, but that would still be viewed as a failure by an ownership group that want regular Champions League football.
With the gap to fifth-place Villa now 10 points with three games remaining, Chelsea's hopes of playing in Europe's top club competition in 2026/27 appear to be over - however there is one way that they can still qualify.
Unai Emery's side face Forest in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday and Blues fans should be rooting for them to go all the way and lift the trophy.
That is because if Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League, their Champions League qualification place will be passed down to the team in sixth.
Chelsea would still have work to do to benefit from that scenario, as they are currently four points behind sixth-place Bournemouth - who are on a 15-game unbeaten run in the Premier League.
However, it should provide some motivation that their hopes of Champions League qualification are not completely over.
This scenario can only play out if Villa finish fifth, as if they win the Europa League and end the season fourth then only the top five in the Premier League would qualify for the Champions League. This is due to UEFA rules involving the European Performance Spot (EPS), which is the extra Champions League place given to the Premier League due to their strong results on the continent.
Chelsea have three tough fixtures to end the league season, with trips to Liverpool and Sunderland sandwiching a home game against relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur.
