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Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers snubbed both Liverpool and Manchester City when asked about the toughest team he has faced this season.
Leicester will take on Chelsea for a second time this season, this time at Stamford Bridge. The Blues won 3-0 last time around thanks to goals from Antonio Rudiger, Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante. Since then, Chelsea have had to deal with multiple issues on and off the pitch.
First and foremost, injuries to some key stars including Kante, Ben Chilwell and Reece James made it difficult for them to keep up with the title race. Secondly, Roman Abramovich has been forced to sell the club and that has brought with it additional problems.
In a press conference, Brendan Rodgers claimed that Chelsea were the best team he has faced as Leicester manager this season (via the Mirror):
I would go as far as to say Chelsea are the best team we have played this season. When we played them early on in the season, they were at the top of their game. I thought they were outstanding."
"Not long after that moment, they lost some players. I've said it before, even with squads like Chelsea’s you need your top players available. Over the course of the time, they have had players out, key players who make the systems function to the highest level."
He added:
"Then obviously, there's the distractions behind the scenes, and of course, that's a challenge. What I do know is they've got an outstanding manager who has done a fantastic job since he's been there. They've got a group of really good players, top, top talents.”
Could Chelsea have challenged Liverpool and Manchester City if not for their off-field issues?
Liverpool and Manchester City have been in a league of their own this season. Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were both in the reckoning for multiple trophies and Liverpool are still in the hunt for a historic quadruple. Of course, Manchester City only have to win their last game against Aston Villa.
Nevertheless, Liverpool will be determined to win at least the Champions League and will know that they have a big chance of revenge against Real Madrid. Chelsea, on the other hand, do have a similar quality in their squad but have struggled due to multiple issues.
Romelu Lukaku's form has only recently improved while multiple stars are set to leave at the end of the season. Tuchel will now be hopeful of adding a few signings despite the ownership change and will hopefully compete for titles next term.
