A third placed Chelsea might be just what the Blues need

Chelsea, since Antonio Conte’s dominant title win, has been particularly terrible in the winter. In every season, the Blues have got out of November in first or nearly in first, only for December, January, or February (or some combination thereof) to undo the club’s work. Conte’s Chelsea fell apart in January of his second season. Maurizio Sarri’s fell apart at the end of January and into February. Frank Lampard fell apart in December into January.

The Blues have not been playing well as of late, and the loss to West Ham hurts in two ways. First of all, it is a loss to a rival and one that is rather resurgent at the moment. Second, it brings back bad memories of winter’s past. Thomas Tuchel has been fantastic for the club, but he hasn’t had a winter yet. Winter is what separates the Chelsea title winners from the rest. This loss to West Ham, on the back of poor performances to Watford and Manchester United, does not bode well.

But, it might just work out if Tuchel plays his cards right. Chelsea dropped from first to third with the loss to West Ham and other results. Now, they can go from the hunted to the hunters again.

This is right down the very fabric of Chelsea’s DNA. Jose Mourinho carefully crafted a side that felt the world was against them and that they were always underdogs. More or less, that spirit continued in the club through arguably Antonio Conte’s tenure. Even on top, the Blues felt like they were chasing others.

Somewhere along the line, that switched and not for the better. Most noticeably, this happened last season when Chelsea was flying high and some like Ben Chilwell dared to dream publicly. Almost immediately, the Blues fell back to Earth after flying too close to the sun.

The opposite of this also worked in the Blues’ favor last year. Even after defeating Manchester City twice, almost no one was talking about Chelsea potentially winning the Champions League. Everyone was focused on Pep Guardiola finally getting the trophy that City hired him to get and it took all the pressure off of the Blues and put it all on City. When the game started, Chelsea was able to play freely while City played with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

Many teams can handle that weight, but this Chelsea team does not appear to be one of them yet. That’s okay, because falling to third could be the wakeup call this team needs. Thomas Tuchel mentioned in preseason and just a few weeks ago about Chelsea needing to be a hunter regardless of what the table says. Now, there is no excuse not to be the hunter. The two title rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, have pulled ahead. Both will be hunting one another and Chelsea is now in a position to do the same.

The Blues, of course, won’t want to end the season in third. But they should use this wakeup call productively. The league will not be a walkover for anyone. Injuries, fatigue, and a loss of form will just be excuses at the end of the day. If Chelsea wants to win the Premier League for the first time in half a decade, they’ll have to hunt for their dinner.