Martin O’Neill feels that Chelsea are in a situation where they cannot afford losing another game in this season, if they wish to have any hope of being crowned the Premier League Champions.
Ahead of his club’s clash with the Blues at Villa Park, O’Neil insists that their opponent have the quality in players for putting together such a run.
O’Neill said, ‘Chelsea needs to beat us for staying in the hunt of Premier League title, as Manchester United have opened up a 5-point gap at the top of the table over Liverpool and another 5 over them.’
‘With only 13 games remaining in the season, Chelsea needs to remain unbeaten throughout and will require winning at least 11 of them.’
‘Although achieving such a feat takes some doing, for the talent, which is on display at Stamford Bridge, it is achievable.’
‘Last season, they achieved a similar feat only to lose the chance after drawing with Wigan in a crucial game of the season.’
‘They were also within a penalty of winning the final of the Champions League, which they went on to lose to Manchester United.’
Chelsea displayed top class performance, as O’Neil hailed following the match, to defeat Aston Villa 2-0 in October at Stamford Bridge. O’Neil was surprised with their dip in fortune and an unexpected change of manager.
‘I was surprised when I heard that Scolari was sacked. For someone, who has the credential of winning the World Cup and being lauded by everyone as a great manager, he was given too little opportunity for having an impact at Stamford Bridge.’
