Chelsea faces an intense fight to escape purgatory in the Premier League led by Graham Potter

Chelsea faces an intense fight to escape purgatory in the Premier League led by Graham Potter

Chelsea fell to 10th place in the Premier League after a frustrating home loss to Manchester City on January 5th. Few would have imagined, on that cold Thursday night, that 75 days later the Graham Potter camp would remain in place

Half-table mediocrity is simply unacceptable to fans, the majority of whom are accustomed to a steady regimen of title challenges, trophy wins, and, at the very least, the first four pursuits. Potter appreciates this, although Chelsea's head coach is quick to describe why his side is not a conquering strength.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime season, and before the World Cup was insane with the intensity of the games and the number of injuries. Then the transfer window added more noise for us, but we have a young group coming together and forming nicely together. The return (against Everton) was positive; Dortmund was positive. But much remains to be done."

This is where Potter's camp will take on Real Madrid, the current champion of Europe and the world. Los Blancos have become a familiar enemy during the last several seasons; Chelsea faced the Spanish giant as he was about to win the Champions League in 2021 and was knocked out of the competition in the last session by the Ancelotti camp.

Chelsea will have to play nearly perfect matches to defeat Real Madrid this season. All errors will be put to good use. Every weakness shall be mercilessly exploited. Real's world-class lineup has presented this repeatedly under Ancelotti's listless stewardship.

The quarterfinal tie made the end of Chelsea's season more discouraging. The Blues have 13 games to play and there are very few—if any—games for Gimmies. "There's an intense period ahead," Potter acknowledged on Saturday. "April and May will weigh heavily on us."