Chelsea’s season on Tuesday slumped deeper into crisis after a 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League left their hopes of qualification for the UEFA Champions League hanging by a thread.
The result left Chelsea seventh in the Premier League, seven points adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool and having played a game more.
The top five qualify for the Champions League, but with just four more rounds of the season to go, Chelsea are on the verge of being cut adrift.
Photo: AFP
Goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck at the AMEX Stadium did not reflect Brighton’s dominance on the night. Victory leapfrogged them over Chelsea up to sixth in the standings and boosted their own pursuit of European soccer next season.
“That was unacceptable in every aspect of the game. Unacceptable in attitudes. I keep coming out and defending the players, that’s indefensible that performance tonight,” Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior told Sky Sports. “Something needs to change drastically.”
It was the seventh loss in Chelsea’s past eight games in all competitions. The team who were crowned FIFA Club World Cup champion less than a year ago have only won one of their past nine in the league.
They have lost their past five league games without scoring, which, according the league’s official stats provider, Opta, is its worst run since 1912 — the same year the Titanic sank.
Rosenior said it was the most difficult night of his career.
“Some of the things I was witnessing today I never want to see again,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Premier League champions Leicester City are to play in English soccer’s third division next season after being relegated from the Championship.
The club who won the title at odds of 5000-1 in 2016 needed to beat Hull City to keep alive their hopes of survival, but drew 2-2.
Leicester, who were playing in England’s top flight last season, also won the FA Cup in 2021.
Wrexham took advantage of Hull’s draw to move into the playoff spots on goal-difference.
A 1-0 win against 22nd-placed Oxford United lifted Wrexham above Hull and into sixth in the standings with two rounds to go in the Championship.
A 5-1 win for Coventry City against 19th-placed Portsmouth confirmed the Championship title for Frank Lampard’s team.
Elsewhere, Millwall (second) beat Stoke City (17th) 3-1, Southampton (fourth) and Bristol City (11th) drew 2-2, Swansea City (10th) downed Queen’s Park Rangers (12th) 2-1, West Bromwich Albion (18th) defeated Watford (15th) 3-0 and Norwich City (ninth) beat Derby County (eighth) 2-1.
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