Any hopes of a Premier League title fight for Chelsea took a step back this week when they were defeated by Leeds at Elland Road.
The Blues fell to a 3-1 defeat, and were showing signs of fatigue after a big week that had included good results over Barcelona and Arsenal.
Enzo Maresca, who has previously been very honest when it comes to his thoughts on the expectation of his club, had this time refused to rule out a potential title challenge.
Who deserves most of the blame for Chelsea’s loss to Leeds?
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
However, they are now nine points behind Arsenal and preparing for a tough away game against Bournemouth, with Moises Caicedo still serving his suspension.
FBL-ENG-PR-LEEDS-CHELSEA
Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
Chelsea now tipped to finish fourth
There will have been desire from the majority of Chelsea fans to have built on the fourth placed finish in the Premier League from last season.
However, after defeat to Leeds, Opta have fourth place as the most likely position that they will finish in the 2025/26 season.
Third place is the next most likely placing for Chelsea, while they are being given a 1.33% chance of winning the Premier League.
There are certainly reasons for Blues fans to not be too down about the future at the club. Cole Palmer is now back from injury, and made his return to the side in the defeat to Leeds.
Leeds United v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Alex Livesey – Danehouse/Getty Images
Enzo Maresca learns painful lessons from Leeds defeat
The boss certainly took a risk with the amount of rotation he did to his side ahead of their Leeds clash.
Chelsea are unbeaten in six against Bournemouth!
Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth (14 Jan 2025)
Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (14 Sep 2024)
Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth (19 May 2024)
Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea (17 Sep 2023)
Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea (6 May 2023)
Chelsea 2-0 Bournemouth (27 Dec 2022)
👇 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say
The likes of Reece James, Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto all started the game on the bench, with the Blues having to pay the price for those decisions.
John Terry thinks Maresca may abandon his mass rotation policy in the coming games, with them next in action against Bournemouth on Saturday.
However, the gruelling fixture list coming Chelsea’s way leaves the boss in a Catch 22 situation, and needing to try and keep his players fresh for the big games in Europe as well as the Premier League.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox