Chelsea news: Crazy schedule has seen Blues play ELEVEN more games than top-flight rivals
- Paul Okey
- 19 January 2022
Chelsea have dropped off the pace in the Premier League as a hectic run of fixtures take their toll, with the Blues having played 12 times in just over a month.
Chelsea have seen their Premier League title hopes evaporate over the last month but it's hard not to feel sorry for Thomas Tuchel's overworked side.
Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Brighton was the Blues' 12th fixture since December 11.
Eight of those have been Premier League games, five more than Burnley, Watford and Leicester have played in the same period.
Throw in three Carabao Cup clashes and an FA Cup tie and you can see why Tuchel feels his side's hectic schedule has gone some way to derailing their title bid.
"We are mentally tired and physically tired, you can see it in our performance, it's as easy as that," he said after the Brighton stalemate.
Manchester City have played eight games in the same period - seven in the league - winning all of them to move 11 points clear at the top of the table. However, without the distraction of the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola's side have been able to retain their focus.
Last Saturday's clash with Chelsea, for instance, came a full eight days after their FA Cup third round tie against Swindon and a full two weeks after their previous Premier League outing.
Chelsea, meanwhile, played their previous top-flight game on January 2 and then had to fit in three cup matches, the last of which was played less than 72 hours before they took on the league leaders.
Chelsea, who kicked off December at the summit, have picked up just 11 points over the period from December 11 - a points per game that if replicated over a season would only give them 52 points.
Arsenal are actually the second-best performing team for the spell despite having only played five top-flight fixtures. The Gunners have picked up four wins, with the only blot a last-minute defeat to Manchester City.
After Chelsea and Manchester City, West Ham are the next most active side having played seven times in the league since December 12, winning three and drawing one.
In fact, the Hammers are probably feeling just as hard done by as Tuchel and Chelsea are when it comes to fixture scheduling having played 15 times since November 20. Until they see the Blues have played 18 games.
Burnley, meanwhile, have played just seven.
