Chelsea look like a broken club, according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
The Blues were booed off by their own fans at Stamford Bridge after a heavily-rotated Nottingham Forest side, which is fighting Premier League relegation, handed Chelsea a sixth-straight league defeat.
The 3-1 result was a shock, considering Forest boss Vitor Pereira had made eight changes to his line-up ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg with Aston Villa on Thursday.
But Chelsea, whose FA Cup semi-final win at Wembley last time out appeared to have shaken off the miserable form which cost Liam Rosenior his job, were behind after 97 seconds, two down after 15 minutes and conceded a third just seven minutes after half-time. A Joao Pedro stoppage-time overhead was nothing more than a consolation.
Chelsea, being managed by inexperienced interim boss Calum McFarlane, are ninth in the Premier League, 10 points off fifth-place Villa in the final Champions League qualifying spot – a position they can no longer reach with three games to play.
A Villa Europa League win and fifth-place finish for Unai Emery’s side could still bring Champions League football to the side which finishes sixth in the Premier League but Chelsea are in serious doubt of securing any European football at all for next season.
“It’s shocking and it comes from the top,” said Carragher.
“There’s five or six really top players on the pitch today and they’ve been beaten by Nottingham Forest’s B team.
“Less than 12 months ago, they were taking PSG to the cleaners.
“There’s no connection between the players and the staff, the players and the fans.
“In some ways, it’s a good thing because it tells you that football isn’t just all about spending money, buying players and this revolving door.
“It’s about creating togetherness and there’s nothing there. They look like a broken football club right now.”
More to follow…
