Manchester City dropping points acts as a lesson for Chelsea

As recently as December 1, 2021, Chelsea was sitting at the top of the Premier League table. Fast forward to February 19, 2022, and the Blues find themselves 13 points behind previously second-placed team Manchester City. Chelsea had a rough run of games through the festive period, a run that was influenced by a lot of injuries to key players. Man City though, sailed through the festive period with little to no issues that saw the Citizens ascend to the top spot.

All the while, Liverpool has been going about its business quietly, leading the English top flight in key attacking metrics, as well as commanding the chance creation table. When Chelsea drew the Brighton match, everyone seemed to think the title inner was now a foregone conclusion, as Man City looked like it was decimating everyone in its way and didn’t even look close to stopping. The Reds kept their heads and continued winning games while Chelsea fans moaned that Man City was going to walk to the league again.

Manchester City’s dropped points acts as a lesson to Chelsea in the title race

In comes a struggling Tottenham Hotspur with a tactical genius at the helm in Antonio Conte. Spurs won their game against the Citizens, beating the reigning champions on their home turf in stopping time. This result has more implications than just a struggling team nicking points off a Man City team in full throttle, showing the Manchester team’s vulnerability. This result also means that, should Liverpool win the game in hand it has on Manchester City, the Reds will be just three points behind the league leaders with the reverse fixture between these two teams looming.

Chelsea may have been in the conversation if it had not drawn as many games as it had, from the time it started slipping down the table. One lesson here is that the title race is not over until it is over. The Premier League title is difficult to win for a reason, and with so many games still to play, anything—as they say—can happen. The Manchester City men that were looking out of sight before suddenly don’t look so invincible anymore. This result likely doesn’t mean that they’ll start losing games from here on out, but then again, who knows how this loss will affect them? Liverpool showed that the title race is not over until after matchday 38. Jurgen Klopp has shown that he can chase. The last time the Reds did the chasing, they lost the title on the final day by one point, but that also means that they know what is required in a race this tight.

The Tottenham vs Man City result does not directly affect Chelsea, but the implication from that match has shown the Blues that if they continue to handle business on their own end, things could turn out quite pleasantly. Klopp’s men were subconsciously ruled out of the title race by Premier League fans, not particularly because of a perceived inability of Liverpool to chase, but just the sheer ease with which Man City was putting teams away. Klopp insisted that his team was not out of the title race and here Liverpool is just a few weeks later.

Another lesson here for the Blues is that they have to avoid packing bad results together like they did through the festive period. Keeping within touching distance always gives you a chance in a title race,  as Liverpool has shown. There wasn’t much Thomas Tuchel could have done in the results Chelsea failed to pick up. However, there are some games that the Chelsea players simply needed to do better in order to keep up with the league leaders and avoid falling so far behind that it’s impossible to capitalize on dropping points from your direct rivals. Not giving up on the title race with 14 games still to play is important, but it is only important to teams who put themselves in a position to pounce on bad results.

What implications, if any, do you think Manchester City’s loss has on its Premier League campaign? Similarly, does it have any impact on the remainder of Chelsea’s campaign? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!