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Chelsea skipper Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted that the Premier League title race could be over for the Blues following his side's 1-0 loss to Manchester City on Saturday.
Kevin De Bruyne was the difference-maker for the champions, scoring the only goal of the match in the 70th minute to sink Chelsea.
It was only their third defeat of the league campaign but Thomas Tuchel's team now find themselves 13 points behind City.
Although Chelsea are still second in the league table, Liverpool, West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all have games in hand over them.
While speaking to NBC Sports after the match, Azpilicueta indirectly admitted their side's title charge could already be over. He said:
“After the game, it’s more difficult than before. We were 10 points behind, and we could have turned it into a seven-point gap.
“Of course, being 13 points behind is very difficult. You cannot focus on that [chasing Manchester City].
With this loss, the Blues have now failed to win their last three league games on the bounce, while winning only four of their last 12.
Having started the campaign strongly, their form has dwindled massively of late, and the Spaniard stressed the importance of winning consistently to stand a chance in the race.
“We have to get the consistency of winning games, being solid, scoring goals back to get our rhythm — that’s the first thing.
“On Tuesday, [we will try to] get back to winning ways, because we know we have a tough game against Brighton.”
Chelsea are away to Brighton at the Amex Stadium late on Tuesday in their next Premier League clash.
Chelsea in danger of dropping into a battle for the top 4 spots
Far from competing for the title, Chelsea's disastrous run of late has put their chances of finishing inside the top-four at risk.
As aforesaid, some of the sides right below them on the table have plenty of games in hand, so they could be pushed further down, even possibly out of the Champions League spots if this form continues.
The loss of Reece James and Ben Chilwell, two of their star performers this season, to injuries has been hard, while Romelu Lukaku has struggled for consistency since returning from a lengthy injury lay-off of his own.
In fact, Tuchel slammed the Belgian after the game for his sloppy play, while also lamenting that Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante's absences have also cost them dearly.
