Chelsea have looked streets ahead of the Premier League competition all season long, but suddenly looked vulnerable in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United.
Not so long ago, Chelsea had the Premier League title all but wrapped up according to many people. Having played most of the season without so much of a hiccup, it was difficult to see how anybody was going to be able to catch the Blues.
Chelsea looked on another level to everybody else. However, suddenly, the title race is open again. After losing to Crystal Palace a few weeks back, Chelsea lost another game on Sunday to Manchester United.
Now Tottenham Hotspur sit just four points back from the league leaders. But compared to the Palace loss, the loss to United was something very different. This wasn’t a smash and grab, or just thanks to a slice of luck.
It was Chelsea looking very vulnerable and very much inferior to United. Nobody has made the Blues look as average as Jose Mourinho and United did. It wasn’t just the fact that they lost the game and gave up another three points, either, it was about the performance, mentality and attitude.
Everything looked off. Different. There has been the odd blip along the way – there always is. Chelsea also had a slow start to the campaign, but once up and running, the field simply could not keep up. This game at Old Trafford was something completely new and different.
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It was truly the first crack in Chelsea’s title bid. Where was Eden Hazard? Marked out of the game, just like that? What’s happened to Diego Costa? Where was that rock-solid defense that has been one of the very best in the league this year? Marcus Rashford ate them up like an eight-year-old does their Easter eggs.
And where was Antonio Conte? That mad, eccentric, frantic whirlwind of emotions on the sideline? The Italian was placid and pensive as he watched his team outclassed by, essentially, many of United’s backup players. It was a strange display by both Conte and his Chelsea team.
And why would that be? The Blues don’t have a huge fixture pileup like, ironically, United do. They do have a couple of injuries, but nothing that should warrant them falling apart. Whilst their opponents were not even a top-four side.
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Perhaps Mourinho’s team selection lured the Blues into a false sense of security? That shouldn’t happen. Not when you’re potentially closing in on winning the Premier League title. Not when you’ve worked all season to be in this exact position.
Chelsea just failed to show up, for whatever reason. The Chelsea that everybody has purred over all year long was just not in attendance. The first genuine crack in Chelsea’s title bid was finally revealed.