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Football London

Sport

Kieran Horn

Chelsea's next five fixtures compared to Liverpool, Tottenham and Man Utd after Real Madrid loss

Chelsea Real Madrid Madrid (Organization) Tottenham Liverpool Frank Lampard Todd Boehly EPL Arsenal Ben Chilwell

Chelsea's dismal 2022/23 season continued on the same downward trajectory on Wednesday evening as the Blues were handily beaten in the Champions League by Real Madrid. Interim manager Frank Lampard helplessly watched on from the touchline as his team were dominated by the European champions with perhaps the only saving grace being that the game finished 2-0 and therefore Chelsea have some hope of overturning the tie at Stamford Bridge.

Karim Benzema gave Carlo Ancelotti's side the lead in the first half with a combination of Kepa Arrizabalaga and Madrid's lack of conviction keeping the scoring down in the first. Los Blancos struggled to reach the same level of intensity in the second period but those struggles were lessened when Ben Chilwell hauled down Rodrygo, who was bearing down on goal, and was thus sent off.

Substitute Marcos Asensio then doubled Madrid's lead finishing a slick short corner that could have been defended far better by Chelsea. Another defeat this month now means the west Londoners have played four games in just under two weeks with no wins and zero goals scored.

The last remaining hope of salvaging this campaign is in European action with Chelsea in eleventh and closer to the relegation zone than achieving a top four spot. Much of the remaining months will likely be used to plan for next season, but the Blues still have at least nine games left to play.

So, with that said, football.london has taken a look at Chelsea's next five fixtures as Lampard hopes to give supporters some joy in a congested April.

Brighton (H) – Premier League – April 15

After a humbling Champions League away defeat, one of the last teams Chelsea will want to face that weekend is Brighton, but that is what they must do. In the reverse fixture, then-Blues boss Graham Potter was rather embarrassed on his return to the south coast just a few months on from leaving Brighton to join Chelsea.

Despite his unbeaten start to management life in west London, Brighton humbled his new team winning 4-1 and under Roberto De Zerbi, the Seagulls have kept up their good form.

Last weekend Brighton were on the wrong side of a controversial defeat to Tottenham and will therefore likely be looking to take out that anger, with Chelsea the side likely to feel that in a clash where the visitors can be considered the favourites.

Real Madrid (H) – Champions League – April 18

This game will undoubtedly define Chelsea's season. The Blues find themselves behind by two goals in the tie but under the lights at Stamford Bridge there is a chance they can pull off an upset.

Lampard will certainly need to rally his troops for this battle, but another defeat will likely confirm the season as redundant for many supporters. A miraculous comeback would place Chelsea in the last four where another seemingly insurmountable challenge arrives likely in the form of Manchester City who won the first leg quarter-final against Bayern Munich 3-0.

Brentford (H) – Premier League – April 26

Another home fixture comes next against another team pushing for European football. Under Thomas Frank Brentford have steadily progressed since their promotion and now find themselves in the hunt for the top six despite losing influential playmaker Christian Eriksen, who terrorised the Blues in this exact fixture last season, to Manchester United.

Despite their contrasting seasons, Chelsea are only four points away from Brentford and results going their way up until and during the game could see them leapfrog the Bees with a win.

Arsenal (A) – Premier League – May 2

Chelsea's first fixture of May is likely the hardest they will face in the run-in, despite all three prior to a meeting with current league leaders Arsenal being very difficult tests. In north London, Mikel Arteta's side have dropped points in just three games.

Despite being over three weeks away this game has already caused some controversy after being moved from the previous Saturday evening. The decision came after the Metropolitan Police held a new Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting, coming to the conclusion the game had to be moved.

Nonetheless, the clash does arrive directly in the middle of Arsenal's title charge and with likely nothing to play for by this point, Chelsea could secure a result that has major title ramifications.

Bournemouth (A) - Premier League - May 6

The final league fixture of Chelsea's next five comes at the Vitality Stadium against relegation-threatened Bournemouth. With eight matches remaining, three points separates the Cherries and the bottom three meaning they could still be fighting for Premier League safety come May 6.

While they have struggled in patches this season, Gary O'Neill's side are no pushovers on their own patch, beating Liverpool in March and securing an unlikely point against Newcastle the previous month.

Liverpool next five fixtures:

Leeds (A) - April 17

Nottingham Forest (H) - April 22

West Ham (A) - April 26

Tottenham (H) - April 30

Fulham (H) - May 3

Manchester United next five fixtures:

Sevilla (H) - Europa League - April 13

Nottingham Forest (A) - April 16

Sevilla (A) - Europa League - April 20

Brighton (A) - FA Cup semi-final - April 23

Tottenham (A) - April 27