Gary Neville has labelled Chelsea the 'best of the rest' in the Premier League and believes that Thomas Tuchel's side will have had a good season if they are to finish third.
In the midst of a very turbulent and busy time for the club on and off the pitch, Chelsea find themselves at the business end of the Champions League and FA Cup. By the end of the week, we will know whether or not the Blues are still in contention for silverware or none at all. They have an uphill task if they are to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League after their poor first leg outing at Stamford Bridge last week against Real Madrid.
"What chance? Not the biggest chance given the first game's results and given the competition and the opponent and the stadium we play," Tuchel honestly admitted in his pre-match press conference on Monday. "We never manage our input and our effort and our belief by the chances we have for our result. We never did and we will not start tomorrow by giving less because it is very unlikely that we make it.
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"It is unlikely but it is worth trying and trying means that we will play to our fullest and to our full limit because this is what we do and we never manage our input and investment by the chances of having a result. This is what it is, it is a big night and a big match and we will try to be in better shape and condition that in the first match."
On the contrary, they are favourites against their London counterparts in the FA Cup semi-final but fans will make you believe by their reaction on social media that Anthony Taylor's appointment for this fixture makes it more of a 50:50 contest. In the Premier League itself, the Blues seem to cantering towards a third-place finish after their latest 6-0 drubbing of Southampton has quashed any thoughts of a potential derailing after the Brentford humiliation a short while ago.
With third place seemingly somewhat secure due to Arsenal and Manchester United's inability to put together some form of a consistent run coupled with the Blues being out of the title race due to a torrid December, Neville believes it has been a good season overall for Tuchel's side with all circumstances taken into account. "They have a big game [Real Madrid] coming up in midweek but I think it's good for Chelsea to re-establish themselves firmly," he outlined on the Gary Neville podcast.
"To finish third this season will be a good season for them, especially with what's happened in these last few weeks. We all still know that's playing out but it was a good six-goal win for them yesterday, so it was a fantastic win for them.
"They are the third-best team in the country. They are consistent, they have a great manager. Their spirit has not been damaged by what's happened in these last few weeks, they are a very strong group."
