{"id":14945,"date":"2026-07-07T03:58:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T03:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=14945"},"modified":"2026-07-07T03:58:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T03:58:35","slug":"chelseas-likely-european-fate-is-too-embarrassing-for-fans-to-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=14945","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea\u2019s likely European fate is too embarrassing for fans to ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div on-document:qinit=\"q-28hqDHDt.js#_hW(0)\" q:key=\"QW_9\" q:id=\"67\"><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=68 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Fair to say, this season has not gone to plan for Chelsea. Enzo Maresca was sacked on New Year&#39;s Day and Liam Rosenior lasted only 107 days in the job, before the Blues suffered six straight Premier League defeats, hence why they are languishing down in eighth place. Fans did get their most enjoyable night of the season on Tuesday, beating Tottenham 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, plunging Spurs into further relegation trouble, thanks to goals from Enzo Fern&aacute;ndez and Andrey Santos the scorers. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=69 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-(18px) md:mt-0 mb-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6a\">Fair to say, this season has not gone to plan for Chelsea. Enzo Maresca was sacked on New Year&#8217;s Day and Liam Rosenior lasted only 107 days in the job, before the Blues suffered six straight Premier League defeats, hence why they are languishing down in eighth place. Fans did get their most enjoyable night of the season on Tuesday, beating Tottenham 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, plunging Spurs into further relegation trouble, thanks to goals from Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez and Andrey Santos the scorers. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6b q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>So, ahead of Sunday&#39;s trip to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland, the Blues could still get into European competition, but is that really what they want? Right now, they could finish as high as seventh but as low as eleventh, so what would this mean? <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6c q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6d\">So, ahead of Sunday&#8217;s trip to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland, the Blues could still get into European competition, but is that really what they want? Right now, they could finish as high as seventh but as low as eleventh, so what would this mean? <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6e q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>Premier League&#39;s European qualification spot: <\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6f q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6g\">Premier League&#8217;s European qualification spot: <\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6h q:key=vcaa:\n\n<ul>\n\n<li>7th: Qualification for the <strong>UEFA Europa League<\/strong> league phae. <\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6i q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<ul id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"!list-disc ml-5 my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6j\">\n<li>7th: Qualification for the <strong>UEFA Europa League<\/strong> league phae. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6k q:key=vcaa:\n\n<ul>\n\n<li>8th: Qualification for the <strong>UEFA Conference League<\/strong> play-off round. <\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6l q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<ul id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"!list-disc ml-5 my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6m\">\n<li>8th: Qualification for the <strong>UEFA Conference League<\/strong> play-off round. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6n q:key=vcaa:\n\n<ul>\n\n<li>9th (or below): No European qualification. <\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6o q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<ul id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"!list-disc ml-5 my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6p\">\n<li>9th (or below): No European qualification. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6q q:key=vcaa:6--><!--qv q:id=6r q:key=fOK1:mL_1--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"w-full border-0 my-4 bg-lightGrey h-1\" q:key=\"Xt_0\"\/><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6s q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>As things stand, Chelsea would be back in the Conference League, the competition they won just last season. To do so, they had to overcome such illustrious European names as Noah, Astana, Shamrock Rovers, Legia Warszawa and Djurg&aring;rden, so would probably rather not return to UEFA&#39;s third-tier competition. Ahead of the final day, what do the statisticians believe to be the most-likely outcome? <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6t q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">As things stand, Chelsea would be back in the Conference League, the competition they won just last season. To do so, they had to overcome such illustrious European names as Noah, Astana, Shamrock Rovers, Legia Warszawa and Djurg\u00e5rden, so would probably rather not return to UEFA&#8217;s third-tier competition. Ahead of the final day, what do the statisticians believe to be the most-likely outcome? <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6v q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>Chances of Chelsea finishing in league positions ahead of the final day <\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6w q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">Chances of Chelsea finishing in league positions ahead of the final day <\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6y q:key=vcaa:9--><!--qv q:id=6z q:key=ndZW:mL_1--><\/p>\n<div class=\"overflow-auto max-w-(90vw)\" q:key=\"xt_0\">\n<table class=\"border-collapse text-left w-full\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"bg-lightGrey py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p><strong>League position<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th class=\"bg-lightGrey py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p><strong>European qualification<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th class=\"bg-lightGrey py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p><strong>% chance<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"border-b-(1px) border-b-lightGrey\" q:key=\"0\">\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p>7th<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p>Europa League spot<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p>31.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"border-b-(1px) border-b-lightGrey\" q:key=\"1\">\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p>8th<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p>Conference League spot<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p>33.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"border-b-(1px) border-b-lightGrey\" q:key=\"2\">\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p>9th<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p>No European qualification<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p>19.9%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"border-b-(1px) border-b-lightGrey\" q:key=\"3\">\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p>10th<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p>No European qualification<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p>14.8%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"border-b-(1px) border-b-lightGrey\" q:key=\"4\">\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"0\">\n<p>11th<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"1\">\n<p>No European qualification<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"py-3 px-10 my-0 mx-auto\" q:key=\"2\">\n<p>0.1%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=70 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p><em>Note: Percentages courtesy of <\/em><em>Football Meets Data<\/em><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=71 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\"><em>Note: Percentages courtesy of <\/em><em>Football Meets Data<\/em><em>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=73 q:key=vcaa:11--><!--qv q:id=74 q:key=fOK1:mL_1--><\/p>\n<hr class=\"w-full border-0 my-4 bg-lightGrey h-1\" q:key=\"Xt_0\"\/><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=75 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The stats suggest that Chelsea have a 65% chance of being in Europe next season, with the Conference League marginally their most-likely destination. The snatch seventh, Calum McFarlane&#39;s side must beat Sunderland on Wearside and hope Brighton do not win against Manchester United in Sussex simultaneously. Who knows what sort of team Michael Carrick will put out there. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=76 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"77\">The stats suggest that Chelsea have a 65% chance of being in Europe next season, with the Conference League marginally their most-likely destination. The snatch seventh, Calum McFarlane&#8217;s side must beat Sunderland on Wearside and hope Brighton do not win against Manchester United in Sussex simultaneously. Who knows what sort of team Michael Carrick will put out there. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=78 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>If the Seagulls are victorious, eighth is Chelsea&#39;s celling, needing to match Brentford&#39;s result which, given that the Bees travel to Anfield, you would expect them to do. Of course, Sunday&#39;s hosts Sunderland would leapfrog the Blues with a victory meaning that, were Chelsea to suffer defeat in the North East, they would be guaranteed to miss out on a European spot. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=79 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7a\">If the Seagulls are victorious, eighth is Chelsea&#8217;s celling, needing to match Brentford&#8217;s result which, given that the Bees travel to Anfield, you would expect them to do. Of course, Sunday&#8217;s hosts Sunderland would leapfrog the Blues with a victory meaning that, were Chelsea to suffer defeat in the North East, they would be guaranteed to miss out on a European spot. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=7b q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Perhaps, with Xabi Alonso coming in, one could certainly make an argument that having fewer games would actually be a benefit for new manager, allowing him to have free weeks on the training ground. Ideally, the Blues would get into the Europa League, but Brighton may win their game, eliminating that as a possibility. Were it to be the case that the Conference League is the best they can achieve, there is more than a case to be made that they should lose at the weekend, allowing Sunderland to enjoy only a second-ever European tour, after featuring in the Cup Winners&#39; Cup in 1973\/74. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7c q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-(18px) (&amp;_a):text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7d\">Perhaps, with Xabi Alonso coming in, one could certainly make an argument that having fewer games would actually be a benefit for new manager, allowing him to have free weeks on the training ground. Ideally, the Blues would get into the Europa League, but Brighton may win their game, eliminating that as a possibility. Were it to be the case that the Conference League is the best they can achieve, there is more than a case to be made that they should lose at the weekend, allowing Sunderland to enjoy only a second-ever European tour, after featuring in the Cup Winners&#8217; Cup in 1973\/74. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:id=7e q:key=1jXG:QW_7--><!--qv q:id=7f q:key=9yVI:Ef_0--><\/p>\n<div on:click=\"q-PR6RmUkK.js#s_Ytib2zHV0Tc(0 1)\" q:key=\"WY_1\" q:id=\"7g\"><!--qv q:s q:sref=7f q:key=--><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"google-news-widget\" class=\"voltax-google-preferred-source my-5 p-4 flex items-center gap-4 rounded-lg bg-(#F0F0F0)\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 items-center gap-3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/><span class=\"font-group-big text-black text-(16px)\">Add us as a preferred source on <span class=\"font-bold\">Google<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"hidden pt-(1px) leading-(1.4) md:inline\">Follow<\/span><svg viewbox=\"0 0 4 8\" fill=\"none\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"h-(12px) w-(6px) md:h-(8px) md:w-(4px)\"><path d=\"M0.5 0.5L3.5 4L0.5 7.5\" stroke=\"white\" stroke-width=\"1.5\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fair to say, this season has not gone to plan for Chelsea. Enzo Maresca was&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}