By Mike Parrott
Chelsea Manager Frank Lampard claims he didn't pin his team's Champions League's hopes on the Manchester City ban. The ban was cleared today and fifth place will see themselves in the UEFA Europa League next season.
Chelsea are currently in one of the most tense climaxes to the top four race in recent history in the Premier League.
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After being dominated by Sheffield United to the tune of 3-0 at Bramall Lane, Chelsea have put themselves in dangerous territory.
Currently third in the Premier League, the London-outfit are only one point ahead of fourth placed Leicester and two points ahead of Manchester United in fifth place. However United have the ability to leapfrog Chelsea to third if they capitalise on their game-in-hand against Southampton tonight.
Wolves in sixth place aren't far off either, only five points behind but still have to play each other on the last day of the Season.
Up until today, most people believed that fifth place would've been enough for Champions League qualification due to the ban on Manchester City for two years. However, this was uplifted earlier today after the Court of Arbitration for Sport deemed City innocent and only had to pay a fine of £10million.
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However, Lampard has said he was never banking on the ban and believes his team has what it takes to finish in the top four:
"I was pretty neutral on it really. I didn't know much about the case, I just looked at the result at it this morning," he said.
"I don't see beyond the games in hand, we want to win them. I was never pinning my hopes on it, we just looked at ourselves."
Chelsea are currently in a much worse state than last season under Maurizio Sarri. Even though are currently in the same position, Lampard will have to win his three remaining games to match Sarri's record last season.
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However, the extra 10 goals conceded already with three games left to go is very worrying information for Chelsea who only seem to be targeting attackers in the transfer window. This comes after the confirmation signings of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
What do you think of the top four race?
Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Frank Lampard, Chelsea, Football, Manchester United, Premier League
