Chelsea have dominated the Premier League, but they’ll fail in the Champions League – here’s why

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Since October, Chelsea have been the team to beat. With one of the best tacticians in the game at the helm in the form of Antonio Conte, the Blues have raced to the top of the Premier League with their 3-4-3 formation dominating almost all who have come before them in the Premier League and FA Cup.

Defeat at Old Trafford last weekend left them with a four point lead with six games left to play, which should comfortably be enough to see them through to a league title in May. Tottenham are their closest, and only, challengers, but they still face a number of tough fixtures, welcoming both Arsenal and Manchester United to White Hart Lane alongside increasingly tricky visits to in-form sides like Leicester City.

With such a cushion, and with Everton the only side to really stand in their way, it would take a monumental collapse for Chelsea to let their first place in the Premier League slip now. With the mental strength shown by the Blues, they can confidently say that they have one hand on the Premier League trophy already.

However, there is cause for concern going into next season. The Toffees could become only the second top seven side not to beat Chelsea this season, joining Manchester City, in a worrying record for the league leaders.

Having been beaten by Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, the initial signs do not look good for a side that will return to Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League, next season with one of the worst records on the continent against their fellow competitors at the top end of the table.

Such a record, with three of those defeats coming on the road, could suggest that trips to the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Juventus may not end well for Chelsea. The manner of those defeats too has been concerning, with many of those defeats having been comfortable wins for the opposition. Tottenham, United and Arsenal have all won by an advantage of two or more goals in displays in which Chelsea have capitulated after conceding and not put up much of a fight, with even Liverpool looking comfortable seeing out their win after Diego Costa pulled one back.

When they have been challenged and pushed this season, Chelsea have too often failed to live up to expectations. The lack of real quality competition in the Premier League will not be replicated in the Champions League and could be indicative of future struggles in Europe next season for the London club.

However, it may not be fair to judge Antonio Conte’s men chances next season on this season alone. There will undoubtedly be additions to squad this summer to add both quality to the starting eleven and greater depth which should make it easier for the side to rise to the challenge against top sides. Fans could argue that the lack of such depth this season was what cost them at Old Trafford as they struggled to cope without the likes of regular starters Thibaut Courtois and Marcos Alonso, whilst Diego Costa was also out of form with next to no competition up-front.

What’s more, the current squad have shown that they do have the mental strength. Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham was their biggest challenge of the season. Up against their closest competitors in the Premier League, missing their defensive leader Gary Cahill, off the back of a disappointing defeat in Manchester the weekend before, the pressure was certainly on at Wembley, only added to when Conte decided to leave out Costa and Eden Hazard. Their 4-2 win over Spurs was not just impressive, but also indicative of just how good the Blues can be.

It may be too soon to write off Chelsea’s European hopes, particularly with an experienced boss in the form of Antonio Conte, but their form this season has created doubts that Stamford Bridge will see a return to some of the great European nights that it has held over the last decade or so.

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