Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca "probably expected" his side to fall off the pace in the Premier League title race at some point in the second half of the season, former Blues defender Glen Johnson believes.
The West London giants' 3-1 loss to reigning champions Manchester City on Saturday evening left them sixth in the Premier League table, a whopping 13 points adrift of Liverpool having played a game more than the Reds.
Chelsea's failure to hang onto a one-goal lead at the Etihad means that they have now won just one of their last seven matches in England's top flight, having previously prevailed in five on the spin from November 23 to December 15 to cement a second-placed ranking in the table.
However, even when his side were pulling up trees in the Premier League, Maresca repeatedly insisted that the Blues were not genuine title challengers, comments that could have been perceived either as mind games that have backfired or a truthful admission that has now been proven.
Johnson - a 2004-05 Premier League winner with Chelsea - believes that the latter is the case, telling Sports Mole: ""He probably initially said it to keep the pressure off his team, like a manager would like to deflect it from.
Johnson: 'Element of truth to Maresca comments'
"But in the back of his head, he probably had a bit of an element of truth in there as well. To go from where they were last year to challenge for the title until the end of the season would have been highly unlikely.
"Yes, they put in some great performances, and they were doing it consistently. So they had the right to be second, third or fourth. But to challenge for the title, you've got to do it almost every week.
"He probably expected them to fall away at some point, so he just probably had a calculated guess at the same time as taking the heat away from his players."
As Chelsea now scrap for a top-four finish instead of Premier League title glory, Arne Slot's Liverpool machine are seemingly on an unstoppable run to their first Premier League title since the COVID-affected 2019-20 season.
The Reds' 4-1 thrashing of Ipswich Town at the weekend kept them six points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who were 1-0 victors against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and nine better off than Nottingham Forest after the Tricky Trees' shock 5-0 loss to Bournemouth.
Could the Premier League title be decided at Anfield?
© Imago
However, Arsenal have previous when it comes to turning around seemingly insurmountable title deficits, having been 12 points behind Manchester United in February 1998 before overhauling Sir Alex Ferguson's side.
Liverpool and Arsenal will reunite at Anfield on May 10 in the third-last gameweek of the 2024-25 season, and Johnson has not ruled out the prospect of that titanic battle deciding the destiny of the league title.
"As a fan, you hope that the title goes that long. We want it to be on the edge. Of course, I want Liverpool to get there in the end, but you still want it to be exciting along the way," Johnson said.
"Hopefully the title race goes to the death and then you've got a massive clash towards the end that could decide the league. That'd be great for the fans to watch."
Chelsea's next Premier League encounter sees them host West Ham United in a London derby on February 3, and the Blues are also still competing for glory in the Conference League and FA Cup.
Glen Johnson was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of Heart Bingo.
Ben Knapton
