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Jamie Carragher says he ‘never thought’ Chelsea would win the Premier League as first-choice goalkeeper and striker Robert Sanchez and Nicolas Jackson are ‘not at the level’.
Chelsea briefly threatened to mount a surprising title challenge earlier in the season before falling out of contention over the last two months.
Sitting 13 points behind leaders Liverpool ahead of the Reds’ game in hand against Everton on Wednesday night, Chelsea’s focus is now on Champions League qualification.
Enzo Maresca’s side are currently fourth – two points ahead of Manchester City – and Carragher believes it will be a ‘disaster’ if Chelsea go another season without top European football.
Carragher has been ‘really disappointed’ by Chelsea’s recent drop-off but insists he never considered the Blues genuine title contenders due to the presence of Sanchez in goal and Jackson up top.
Sanchez made more errors leading to goals than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League before being dropped by Maresca recently, while Jackson has only scored one goal since the start of December.
Discussing the state of play at Stamford Bridge, ex-Liverpool and England defender Carragher said on The Overlap US: ‘The project looked like it was on track, results were going well.
‘There was a game where they could have gone top of the league. It looked like it was falling into place and I thought they could make it a three-horse race for the title with Liverpool and Arsenal.
‘But I’ve got to say I’ve been really disappointed with them. I never thought they could win the league at any stage because of the goalkeeper and the entre forward, they’re not at the level. The centre-backs are not at the level either.
‘But this drop-off will be a real worry for the people at the top of the club. If they don’t get Champions League football next season, having been there for a couple of years and spent that amount of money, that’s a disaster.
‘They went out of the Carabao Cup really early, now they’re out of the FA Cup.
‘You have to remember Chelsea have been a winning machine for about 20 years. They’ve not gone two or three years without a trophy and the supporters aren’t used to it.
‘I think real questions will be asked of the hierarchy if they don’t get Champions League football because you can’t really accept it.’
As Carragher said, Chelsea were recently knocked out of the FA Cup, losing 2-1 to Brighton after taking an early lead.
Chelsea return to Premier League action against the same opposition on Friday night as they look to consolidate a place in the top-four.
£32m signing Jackson missed the FA Cup clash through injury but is expected to return on Friday against a Brighton team hoping to climb up the Premier League table.
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