Chelsea’s miserable season hit a new low on Tuesday as they slumped to a 3–0 defeat away to Brighton, further damaging their hopes of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck condemned Liam Rosenior’s side to a fifth straight Premier League loss without scoring, the first time Chelsea have suffered such a run since 1912. The result means the Blues have now lost seven of their last eight games in all competitions and won just one of their past nine league matches.
Chelsea sit seventh on the table, seven points adrift of fifth placed Liverpool, with only the top five guaranteed Champions League football under the league’s current allocation. Unless they can quickly arrest their slide, Rosenior’s men risk missing out on European competition altogether.
The pressure on the manager is growing ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi final against Leeds United at Wembley, a game many see as pivotal to his future just months after he arrived from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca in January.
Rosenior has insisted in recent days that Chelsea’s owners remain “magnificent” in their support for him despite the slump, and co owner Behdad Eghbali has publicly expressed optimism about the club’s long term project under the English coach.
But the mood among supporters is increasingly toxic. There were loud boos at full time in Saturday’s 1–0 home defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, following pre match protests against owners BlueCo, and Chelsea’s travelling fans again jeered players and staff at the Amex Stadium while chanting “we want our Chelsea back.”
On the pitch, Chelsea were second best throughout. Kadioglu lashed home the opener in the third minute after the visitors failed to clear a Pascal Gross corner, before Hinshelwood doubled Brighton’s lead on a swift counter attack midway through the second half. Welbeck completed the rout in stoppage time, firing into the roof of the net from a Maxim De Cuyper cut back as Rosenior looked on in disbelief.
Chelsea managed no shot in the opening 30 minutes and rarely threatened Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, underlining their lack of attacking confidence and ideas.
Brighton’s victory lifts them above Chelsea into sixth place, adding to the growing sense of crisis around a Blues side that began the campaign with ambitions of challenging the Premier League’s elite but now finds itself fighting just to stay in the European race.
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