Analysis: Should Blues be looking over their shoulders?

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Much of the focus has been on Chelsea's ambitions to qualify for the Champions League, but they may need to start looking over their shoulders at the teams behind them.

Four defeats in five Premier League matches, and just one win in seven, have left Chelsea in sixth place and drifting, even behind an inconsistent Liverpool side, who are four points clear in the final Champions League spot.

In fact, Chelsea are closer to 11th-placed Bournemouth (with the gap just three points) than they are Liverpool.

And the two teams directly beneath the Blues - seventh-placed Brentford and Everton in eighth - are just a point behind them and both in superior form.

Some of the scrutiny for Chelsea's late-season struggles will fall on Liam Rosenior. He set his side up well for the first 45 minutes, surprising Pep Guardiola's team with a counter-attacking approach. However, once Guardiola had time to adjust at the interval, Chelsea were blown away.

Forwards such as Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian have failed to provide decisive moments - leaving them goalless and defeated for three games for the first time in over 18 years, while defensively they have not kept a clean sheet in five home matches.

Rosenior has not had the benefit of a pre-season and it remains early in his tenure. However, Enzo Maresca's departure in January, following a falling out with club hierarchy, was unplanned and has proven disruptive.

In recent weeks, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella have spoken about how destabilising the managerial change has been.

Enzo Fernandez also talked publicly about wanting to move to Madrid one day, comments which were poorly received inside the club. He was handed an internal two-match ban and missed Sunday's game.

Away from the pitch, a fringe protest group, Not A Project FC, are planning to demonstrate before the upcoming home match against Manchester United. They are expected to march jointly with supporters from French club Strasbourg, who are also under BlueCo ownership.

It will not be lost on Chelsea that they are without a win in 10 games against the era's standard-setters City. Not since beating City in the 2021 Champions League final have Chelsea tasted success against Guardiola, with only Reece James left in the squad from those days.

That record underlines why Chelsea can no longer be considered title contenders, and reflects a lingering inferiority complex after being overtaken by a richer and more successful rival.

With players and fans increasingly frustrated, and momentum firmly negative, there is a real question over whether Chelsea will qualify for European football at all, not just the Champions League.