Cesar Azpilicueta has explained why Chelsea have not been able to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League crown.
The Blues had a superb second half of 2020/21 under Thomas Tuchel which saw them climb back into the top-four and, of course, win the Champions League.
And, after spending big on a proper no.9 to help with their lack of goals, it was expected that Chelsea would be competing with the two aforementioned sides for the Premier League.
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Why Chelsea haven’t challenged Manchester City & Liverpool for Premier League
However, Chelsea are currently 12 points off Man City and 11 off Liverpool. Granted, the west Londoners do have a game in hand on both sides, but even if they win that they are still very much out of the title picture.
So why then, have Chelsea not been able to mount a proper title challenge?
Well, Cesar Azpilicueta has offered an explanation recently and pointed towards the number of games Chelsea have had to play as a reason why:
“The reality from last season is that we closed the gap from them (Liverpool and Man City) in the Premier League, but not enough to be challenging for the title,” Azpilicueta said at Wembley Stadium after his side’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
“We arrived in the Carabao Cup final and lost on penalties. In the two games in the Premier League [against Liverpool] we drew both.
“In a final, it is different – one game. We have to show the consistency to be able to compete against Man City and Liverpool [in the league] because they have shown great consistency winning back-to-back games and keeping a great level of consistency. That is what we are looking for. To keep on closing the gap and improving our team. We have a great group. Everybody is pushing hard. We have great competition.
“We had to deal with injuries and the Covid situation. We never had a game postponed. We are the team with the most games in Europe. Everything is a consequence of our success.
“We have been in the Carabao Cup final, in the FA Cup final, quarter-final of the Champions League, Club World Cup and Super Cup. That’s part of the consequences of ourselves, that we always push for everything. “We never choose an easy competition. We go for every competition until the end and we will keep doing the same.”
