After disappointingly losing the Carabao Cup final to Liverpool on Sunday, there's a case to be made that it's not all doom and gloom for Premier League big spenders Chelsea.
The Blues slumped to a third cup final defeat to Liverpool since 2022 when they lost 1-0 to the Reds on Sunday. The disappointment at Chelsea has been unequivocal as they lost to a youthful Liverpool team that fielded five academy players. Maurico Pochettino's side will now turn its sights to the Premier League as well as the FA Cup, with their next fixture in the latter being against Leeds United this coming Wednesday.
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On the backdrop of their Carabao Cup defeat and given that they remain 11th on the EPL table after 25 matches played, there are many suggestions that Chelsea's season has essentially ended in a whimper. However, such a conclusion is arguably an unjust reflection of how the Blues' 2023/24 campaign has gone.
The Stamford Bridge team has undeniably been in floundering form since the Todd Boehly-led ownership took over the club back in 2022. As of September 2023, the regime had spent more than €1 billion (R20 billion) on transfers. This has cast an even bigger spotlight on the side's performances as there's an expectation that they should be doing better after spending unprecedented sums of cash on reinforcements. Furthermore, this has also shone the light on the seemingly poor job Pochettino is doing, although he has continually remained positive in the job at hand.
Last season, Chelsea finished 12th on the table with 44 points and this term, they look set to have a higher points total than the previous campaign as they currently have 35 points with 13 games to play in the league. Pochettino has also guided them to their first final since the Clearlake Capital takeover, while their hopes of reaching the latter stages of the FA Cup remain alive ahead of their clash with EFL Championship team Leeds. Two of their top rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, have already been eliminated from the competition.
A domestic cup final and a higher finish in the Premier League than last season would only be reflective of an improvement in the side's fortunes. In the past 20 years, Chelsea have never gone back-to-back seasons without qualifying for European football, and one of their more realistic objectives would be to push for a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League - which would require them to finish seventh on the EPL standings. They are currently within touching distance of that position as they are four points adrift of seventh-placed Brighton Hove Albion, with a game in hand.
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Despite more recent reports suggesting Chelsea are now monitoring Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, it seemingly makes very little sense to not let Pochettino see out at least the remainder of this season.
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