Time for Chelsea to wake up! Resurgent Man Utd will cut Blues adrift if Liam Rosenior can't stop alarming slide

Rosenior should surely have no problems injecting the sense of urgency that has been dearly lacking from his side's recent performances when Michael Carrick brings the Red Devils to west London. The success of their season may well depend on it.

Sunday's limp 3-0 home defeat to Man City means Chelsea are now closer to Bournemouth in 11th than they are to Liverpool in the fifth and final Champions League place. United, meanwhile, have opened up a comfortable cushion to the sixth-placed Blues despite only collecting seven points from a possible 15 since early March.

Arne Slot's beleaguered Reds are still within touching distance for the time being, but if Chelsea suffer another defeat on Saturday and other results go against them, too, then they could very easily tumble into the mire of a crowded mid-table.

What's even more concerning is that the toiling west London club still need to play Brighton, Liverpool and Tottenham after the United showdown, while they finish the season away at Sunderland's Stadium of Light fortress to complete a daunting run-in.

Chelsea's decline has, of course, unfolded against the backdrop of significant off-field turbulence. In the March international break, Enzo Fernandez overtly and repeatedly flirted with a move to Real Madrid, while Marc Cucurella spoke out against the decision to sack Rosenior's predecessor Enzo Maresca and the way the club is being run. None of that has helped the current head coach's cause, with Fernandez handed an internal two-game suspension.

The deeply concerning things for Chelsea's fanbase is that the club has been in a similar position at this stage of the season in the recent past; it was in April 2023 that Blues icon Frank Lampard replaced Graham Potter on an interim basis and oversaw a run of just one win in nine league games as well as a feeble Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid, taking the Blues from 11th to 12th by season's end. A deep, often toxic apathy set in among players and supporters alike.

Away from the pitch there were murmurs that several members of the squad wanted out, and that proved to be the case as the playing staff was completely overhauled that summer, as the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic departed alongside many more.

All of that recent history means there is an alarming sense of deja vu at Stamford Bridge in the context of what is going on around the club right now, with the Blues currently just three points clear of 11th. Rosenior has also lost as many times as Potter had after 21 games, and the boos that rained down from the stands in the wake of the loss to Man City suggest that the old toxicity is threatening to return.

For what it's worth, it seems Chelsea's under-fire ownership have no plans to pull the plug on their latest project just yet, perhaps learning their lesson after unwittingly ushering in one of the bleakest periods in the club's modern history by sacking Potter three years ago.

According to The Athletic, Rosenior's is safe even if he fails to secure a top-five finish in what remains of the campaign - something that looks an increasingly daunting task. The English tactician has been open about being involved in summer transfer planning, and it was previously reported that his position won't be reviewed until he has had a full season, as was the case with Mauricio Pochettino and Maresca.

It will be interesting to see whether that stance changes, however, especially if Chelsea fail to claim a Champions League place and fall short in their quest to win a first FA Cup for eight years, with City likely to stand in their way if they reach the final. Of course, they could yet miss out on European qualification altogether - an outcome that reportedly would not be tolerated.

It's clear Rosenior is under no illusions as to the task at hand, echoing a now-infamous Potter quote as he insisted he needs more time to "create something very, very special" in the wake of the damaging defeat to City. Chelsea are now ninth in the form table since his appointment.

"Obviously, I'm here and I need to win in this moment," he said. "This is a huge football club. When I first came, I never asked for a lot of time because I understand this club, I understand the traditions and the history of this club.

"I would like to have that time because I'm confident that within that time, you can create something very, very special within the time that it takes. Even someone as experienced as Pep [Guardiola] or Jurgen Klopp when he won the titles he did at Liverpool, they had a year to sort things out. I've come in January.

"It's not an excuse, it's a reality. But I need to win in the now and that's what I'll be focused on."

Aside from Chelsea's own form and the disquiet behind closed doors, Man Utd's resurgence under Carrick is another problem for Rosenior and his squad. The understated interim has guided the Red Devils to comfortably within the top five with just six games remaining and despite that aforementioned blip in form.

In recent seasons, the Blues had been able to bank on the underperformance of United, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and the like to boost their own league position, but that isn't going to be the case this time around.

The west Londoner's awful form means they are the side most at risk of becoming mid-table also-rans, while Spurs are in a league of their own as they battle relegation. If this is the beginning of a new order being established, with Villa also seven points ahead in fourth, then Chelsea must act quickly to avoid being left well behind.

Chelsea will just be glad that Man Utd didn't capitalise on their latest defeat as Carrick's men were stunned by Leeds at Old Trafford on Monday night, keeping the gap at seven points rather than 10. But anything less than a victory on Saturday and the Blues will have no chance of catching their rivals, while their top-five hopes will have been all-but extinguished.

United, meanwhile, are already almost certain to return to Europe's premier club competition, and after some belated smart business last summer, they will be in a position to strengthen further in the transfer market with the lure of Champions League football, potentially leaving Chelsea trailing in their wake.

The rumours of discontent behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge suggest it is going to be another summer of seismic change, but the club will have little chance of competing for big-name signings such as Julian Alvarez, Morgan Rogers or Adam Wharton if they can't offer the same.

There is a real threat that they could be cut adrift, both in the short and long-term, meaning victory on Saturday night is imperative.