It couldn’t happen, could it? Nine days ago Chelsea looked unstoppable — they were in the Champions League final, the FA Cup final and had just climbed into third after a win over Manchester City, who have since been crowned champions.
Today their season is in danger of crumbling before them. In many ways Wednesday’s Premier League defeat by Arsenal would have reverberated far more profoundly than losing to Leicester in the FA Cup final.
Rightly or wrongly, the powers-that-be at Chelsea value a top-four finish abundantly more than they do winning a domestic cup.