04/21/26 04:18:00
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04/21 16:17 CDT Chelsea loses again and Champions League hopes hang by a thread
Chelsea loses again and Champions League hopes hang by a thread
By JAMES ROBSON
AP Soccer Writer
Chelsea's season slumped deeper into crisis after a 3-0 defeat to Brighton on
Tuesday left its hopes of Champions League qualification hanging by a thread.
The result leaves Chelsea seventh in the Premier League and seven points adrift
of fifth place Liverpool having played a game more.
The top five qualify for the Champions League, but with just four more rounds
of the season to go, Chelsea is on the verge of being cut adrift.
Goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck at the AMEX
Stadium did not reflect Brighton's dominance on the night. Victory saw it
leapfrog Chelsea and move up to sixth in the standings and boosted its own
pursuit of European soccer next season.
It was a seventh loss in Chelsea's last eight games in all competitions. The
team that was crowned Club World Cup champion less than a year ago has won only
one of its last nine in the league and failed to score in each of the last five.
While it has an FA Cup semifinal against Leeds on Sunday, its campaign has
unraveled in recent weeks, including elimination from the Champions League at
the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
Chelsea --- a team that cost in excess of $1 billion to assemble --- is now
left facing up to the likelihood of missing out on the lucrative Champions
League.
The decision to let go of Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Marcesca in January
now looks like a costly one, with his replacement Liam Rosenior overseeing the
team's slide.
According the league's official stats provider Opta, Chelsea's five-game
Premier League losing streak without a goal is its worst run since 1912 --- the
same year the Titanic sank.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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