Chelsea’s season plumbed new depths in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal, not just in that it was the sixth defeat of Frank Lampard’s six-game reign but also the manner in which the team seemed to disintegrate in the first half.
It is difficult to see where the team’s next win is coming from, and with three of the top four still to play as well as a trip to buoyant Bournemouth on Saturday, it may not come until August.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what has gone wrong and what hope this team have for the future.
How much worse can it get?
Materially, the answer appears to be ‘not much’. The team are not going to be relegated, though on current form that might be certain only because the season will run out of games before Chelsea run out of points.
The concern now is about what damage is being done to the players, staff and supporters psychologically on this desperately poor run-in, and how much time it will take to repair.
For a team this expensively assembled to lose six in a row – part of a winless run of eight during which only two goals have been scored – speaks to something more serious than a side lacking confidence and form.
Chelsea played like strangers in losing to Arsenal, world-class players seemingly unable to perform. The squad seem in a state of shock. The road back will not be straightforward.
What can be done in the short term?
The club appear to be damned whichever direction they move in.
Nobody could have predicted the speed or extent to which Lampard has looked out of his depth, but making yet another change barely a month after the latest one would not reflect well on the club.
Equally, putting the next permanent manager in the dugout now rather than letting him start with the spotlight off during the close-season could short-circuit the reboot at its inception.
Is there any good news?
Yes – the season is only five games from being over, but that could also be the bad news if losses keep piling up.
Yet for all the criticism of the way Todd Boehly has gone about Chelsea’s business, he has in an albeit wasteful and roundabout way assembled many of the parts that the club need in order to be a force again.
In Enzo Fernandez they have a genuine star of world football around whom a truly great team can be built, while Joao Felix – if he stays – is a game-changing talent with limitless potential.
Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk are fine young players starting to show signs of acclimatisation, and Wesley Fofana has hinted in flashes at why he was so highly regarded during his time at Leicester.
Scoring goals is a problem, and Christopher Nkunku – when he arrives from RB Leipzig in the summer – could be part of the solution.
Yet there remains the absence of a clinical, proven goalscorer and it is hard to see this team competing next season without one.
Could Pochettino be the man to turn things around?
This is another reason for supporters not to abandon hope. Mauricio Pochettino looks a decent fit for the urgent work that needs doing, with a proven record of transforming a squad of callow hopefuls into performers on the very biggest stage.
He ticks a lot of the boxes: tactical nous; good with young players; able to handle mature stars and their not-so-mature egos; charismatic.
Yet there is an almost unprecedented rebuild required at the club, and what success he has enjoyed in the past will not be a guarantee of anything.
If he is to turn things around, it will not happen overnight. But if anybody is going to get the club back on track, Pochettino looks as good a bet as anybody on the market.
'It's here to stay' – Postecoglou jokes he's moving to Sweden to escape VAR
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has joked he may move to Sweden in order to escape VAR, claiming it has changed English football for the worse.
Plans to introduce VAR to the Swedish Allsvenskan – the country's top tier – have been dropped amid fierce opposition from clubs and supporters.
The use of VAR in the Premier League has been a major talking point throughout the season, with a number of high-profile controversies undermining fan support for the technology.
Last week, Mauricio Pochettino said VAR had "damaged" the image of English football after Axel Disasi had a potential stoppage-time winner chalked off during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
Ahead of Thursday's meeting with Pochettino's Blues, Postecoglou was asked whether English clubs might follow the lead of their Swedish counterparts.
"I'm moving there. I don't have a job, I'm just moving there," Postecoglou joked, before adding: "Yeah, it's here to stay, absolutely. It's not going away.
"I'd change a hell of a lot on it, but I've said that before. I think it's changed the game materially, which I don't think was the intention when it was brought in."
Postecoglou also seemed to suggest the application of VAR in England has been more troublesome than elsewhere, saying it had worked "seamlessly" in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final draw between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
"I watched the Champions League last night like everyone else, and if you hadn't told me VAR was part of the game I wouldn't have known," Postecoglou added.
"I'm sure they had decisions to make but it seemed to work pretty seamlessly.
"Like I said, we're trying to pick the bones out of every little thing that happens in a football game at the moment – whether that's the referee or any other part.
"I don't like it, it changes the game, it changes the game experience whether you're involved or not as an active spectator. Hopefully they'll find the right sort of ground for it to work."
Pochettino says Chelsea in 'most challenging period' ahead of Spurs reunion
Mauricio Pochettino says facing his former club Tottenham will always be "emotional", but his full focus is on guiding Chelsea through a testing period ahead of Thursday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino enjoyed a successful five-year stint with Spurs between 2014 and 2019, leading them to a Champions League final and to three straight top-three Premier League finishes.
He has found the going more difficult since taking over a Chelsea side still going through a transitional period under the Todd Boehly regime, with the big-spending Blues sitting ninth in the Premier League table.
Chelsea did beat Tottenham 4-1 in a memorable return fixture in November, meaning Pochettino could become the first coach to complete a Premier League double over Spurs having previously managed them in the competition.
"It will be emotional coming up against people who I worked with for a long period. I can't hide my emotion for the club," Pochettino told reporters on Wednesday.
"But across 90 minutes we want to win and Tottenham are going to come here to try and win."
Chelsea are five points adrift of the top seven with a game in hand, and Pochettino believes the club are taking the first steps on a path similar to that followed by his Spurs team.
"Tottenham was amazing because the challenge was to create a team that could compete with top sides," he added.
"Now at Chelsea, we are in the process of building an exciting project that needs time and this is maybe the most challenging period."
Tottenham are in desperate need of points if they are to reel in Aston Villa and secure a top-four finish, having suffered back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United (0-4) and Arsenal (2-3).
Despite their recent slide, Ange Postecoglou is in no doubt that his team have made big strides this term, saying: "What I see is us playing football, measuring ourselves against the best.
"My players have got real belief in what we are doing. That's all I need to see."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer, whose tally of 20 Premier League goals this term has only been bettered by Erling Haaland (21), has scored hat-tricks in each of his last two home games, netting three goals against Manchester United and four versus Everton.
The only player to ever score three or more goals in three straight home Premier League matches is Haaland, who did so against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and United last season.
Tottenham – Guglielmo Vicario
Vicario failed to command his area from corners as Arsenal scored twice from such situations in last week's North London derby, and it's an area in which the Italian needs to improve.
Only United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) have allowed their opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from set-piece situations than Tottenham's 14.3 in the Premier League this season, though Chelsea's tally of 83 shots from dead-balls is a league-low number.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Chelsea have a great record against their London rivals, recording 34 Premier League wins over Spurs. Only United have beaten them more often in the competition, with 39 victories.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have only lost one of the last 33 league meetings between the sides, going down 3-1 in April 2018 when Pochettino was in the Tottenham dugout.
Tottenham are looking to avoid suffering three straight Premier League defeats for the second time this season, having also done so in November – a run which began with their 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Chelsea.
Postecoglou's men could think themselves unfortunate on that occasion, though, missing several good chances to get back into the game despite being reduced to nine men by red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie.
One thing is for certain – goals should be expected. Chelsea have already conceded 59 Premier League goals this term, their most in a single campaign in the competition, while Spurs have shipped 52 and failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea – 39.9%
Tottenham – 32.6%
Draw 27.5%
Bruno Fernandes hints at Manchester United departure
Bruno Fernandes hinted he may leave Manchester United in the close season, but insisted he will not consider his future until after the European Championship.
The United skipper has been one of the Red Devils' standout performers during a tricky campaign for Erik ten Hag's side, who are sixth in the Premier League and six points behind fifth-place Tottenham with three games remaining.
Fernandes has chipped in with 26 direct goal involvements (15 goals, 11 assists) - the most by any United player - and became the first player to create over 100 chances in the Premier League this term during Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burnley.
The club are reportedly prepared to sell most of their top players in the close season under the new Jim Ratcliffe regime, though the Portugal international is still under contract at Old Trafford until June 2026.
With the European Championship and an FA Cup final against Manchester City on the horizon, the 29-year-old says that remains his top priority and he will focus on his future further down the line.
"I'm not thinking about other things at the moment. Obviously, it doesn't just depend on me, does it?" he told DAZN Portugal.
"A player always has to want to be here, but at the same time, you have to want him to stay. At the moment, I feel there's that on both sides.
"I'm not thinking too much about the future, not least because this season hasn't been at the level I’d hoped for - either individually or collectively - so far.
"If I have to think about not continuing in the Premier League, it won't be until after the Euros. Nothing will be able to take my focus away from the FA Cup final and the Euros, as there's nothing more important than that at the moment."
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