Chelsea had until now avoided the chaos of no-man's land, having been in the top four of the Premier League since September. But now, after defeat at home to Manchester United, they face the realistic prospect of being sucked into a Champions League qualification dogfight that extends down to 10th-place Arsenal.
A prolonged malaise has led Chelsea to this position. They have suffered poor results since the end of November, a six-game winning run now only a distant memory. Two consecutive defeats to United this season have now become three.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men first delivered the goods in a low-quality game when Aaron Wan-Bissaka's brilliant cross was wonderfully headed in by Anthony Martial.
It was a significant blow and Chelsea were furious having watched Harry Maguire seemingly kick out at Michy Batshuayi in an off-field tussle in Lampard's technical area just moments earlier.
Maguire would kill the game later on, heading in from a Bruno Fernandes corner. Fernandes was a player that Lampard called world-class on transfer deadline day, having been told he would get no one in until the summer.
Still, there was further ill-fortune in the second half, with Kurt Zouma's goal ruled out by VAR for a push by Cesar Azpilicueta. The captain may complain that he himself was pushed by Fred on the set-piece but that changed nothing in referee Anthony Taylor's eyes.
Chelsea were indeed unlucky but they weren't good enough to ensure victory regardless of refereeing decisions. They are now deserving of their spot among the mid-table clubs despite being 12 points clear of them in November.
GOAL
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