Chelsea’s Champions League fate now clear after Sunday’s results | OneFootball

Well, there you have it. Chelsea know what they have to do.

A win for Nottingham Forest away at West Ham has made Chelsea’s game against the Tricky Trees next Sunday a must win for both teams. Win and we’re in the Champions League.

Chelsea know what they have to do to secure Champions League prize

Chelsea group generic after Man U win. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Forest are now in seventh with 65 points, while we’re in 4th on 66. If we don’t win, we have to hope that Aston Villa beat Man U and Man City lose their game in hand and their final day match.

But it shouldn’t need to come to that – we should be looking to sweet Forest aside. Today’s win was a rare spot of hope for them, as their form overall has crumbled in the last couple of months.

Blues must improve on dire Newcastle showing

One worrying sign is how we coped at St. James Park against Newcastle just a week ago. We totally crumbled in the face of that fearsome atmosphere, and it will be rocking to a similar degree at the City Ground next Sunday.

Enzo Maresca simply has to find a way of getting his players better prepared for that game than they were against the Magpies. The early goal there was a disaster, but came because we had started the game so cold. A big win at home against a dire Man U team is one thing, going away to a team playing for their season is another.

The game on Friday was a tough reminder of how difficult things are going to be without Nicolas Jackson in the team. We created very little going forward, put in loads of aimless crosses pointed to nobody, and will have to do a lot better when we face a rock solid Forest team.