Chelsea are winless in their last three Premier League matches with their chances of a top four finish all but over.
The Blues hosted Manchester City on Sunday and were demolished 3-0 — their third straight league defeat — and once again failed to score a single goal.
The side's latest poor result has unsurprisingly turned the heat up on Liam Rosenior with the Chelsea head coach admitting after the game that he doesn't expect to have a lot of time to turn things around.
Rosenior was not only outclassed by Pep Guardiola, but he was also outthought. The Manchester City boss made a crucial tactical decision which proved to be the difference.
Pep Guardiola exposed Chelsea's weak link
Even though Nico O'Reilly's opening goal just after the half time break came from a right-sided Rayan Cherki cross, the Citizens dominated Chelsea's left flank throughout.
Malo Gusto constantly faced Jeremy Doku in one-on-one situations and the Frenchman came out the duels' loser more often than not.
According to figures from sports data giants Opta, Manchester City targeted Chelsea's left flank — and Gusto in particular — 49 per cent of the time opposed to just 29 per cent on the opposite flank which Marc Cucurella occupied.
Interestingly, the Blue Moon chose to move through the gears centrally just 22 per cent of the time suggesting Guardiola recognised Gusto as Chelsea's weak link.
The Spaniard was bang on the money too. His tactical nous was proven by Manchester City's second goal, which was scored by Marc Guehi, starting from the left before Doku got their third himself.
Reece James is even more important than Chelsea realise
James didn't play against Manchester City due to injury and Guardiola took full advantage of the 26-year-old's absence.
You won't find many who disagree that James is one of, if not, the, best right-back in the Premier League, but he's worth even more than that to Chelsea.
James, who recently penned a bumper new contract, could return at the start of May, and with a potential FA Cup final on the horizon, Rosenior will be counting down the days until the right-back is back to full fitness.
Nevertheless, while Chelsea will love that England's best full-back has committed his future to the club, there will surely be mounting concerns over their inability to replace him whenever he's unavailable.