(Football news) Chelsea has fallen back into the Premier League’s bottom half following another devastating loss over the weekend, which stunned them after a string of encouraging performances. 

Even though it seemed Chelsea had started to turn the wheel in recent weeks, Saturday’s loss in a West London derby against Brentford has proven they are still in the throes of a crisis. The Bees were brought back to earth after losing their last three Premier League West London derbies at home against Thomas Frank’s team, following yet another humiliation at the Bridge.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea began a run of three straight wins with their victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the competition’s final round. They next drew 2-2 with Arsenal in a match in which they possessed the upper hand.

Though Pochettino’s team only has 12 points from 10 games, they are back in the bottom half. They need to make sure this doesn’t turn into a cup tie, which would put further pressure on the Argentine.

Although Chelsea struggled to a victory over AFC Wimbledon in round two, they have only lost to lower-league opponents once in the previous 15 years, to Bradford City in the FA Cup in 2015.

They have frequently failed to advance past this point in recent years, being eliminated in the fourth round in four of the previous eight seasons, which is a concerning indicator.

Similar to their hosts, Blackburn has struggled mightily under Jon Dahl Tomasson this season. They have only drawn once in 17 games, winning nine and losing seven, with three of the victories occurring during this competition.

The 2002 victors are the competition’s best scorers, having defeated Cardiff City 5-2 in the previous round, Harrogate Town 8-0 in the second round, and Walsall 4-3 in the first. Those cup victories have also been replete with goals.

Last season, however, Blackburn was only able to advance as far as the fourth round before being eliminated by eventual semi-finalists Nottingham Forest, a Premier League rival.

The last time Rovers advanced past this point was during the 2011–12 season, when they were ultimately defeated by Cardiff in the quarterfinal.

Blackburn’s three-game winning streak came to an end over the weekend as Swansea City defeated them 1-0 at Ewood Park. The team has made remarkable progress in the league after a slow start.

Due to this outcome, Blackburn is now only four points outside of the playoffs in 12th place, right in the middle of the midtable.
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