CONFIRMED: Chelsea miss out on European football after 10th place Premier League finish

Chelsea are not going to be playing in Europe after an utterly embarrassing season in the Premier League finished with them in 10th.

Chelsea’s game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light is over, with the Blues losing 2-1.

With 3 wins since the start of February, it’s been a total second half of the season collapse, and in the end they’ve finished in 10th place. That means no Champions League, no Europe League, no Conference League. There will be no European football at all at Stamford Bridge next season.

Chelsea embarrass themselves again with another defeat

The argument is that this gives Xabi Alonso more time to work next season, and there is truth to that. With no midweek European games, the expectations in the league rise even higher.

But there are downsides too. It means less money coming in, less attraction for new players, and fewer minutes to give out to youngsters – which was the only positive of our Conference League campaign.

Can there be any complaints? This team don’t deserve to be in Europe. It would have been a crime to take a place off teams like Brentford or Sunderland who have done so much more with so much less.

Chelsea did get a goal back through Cole Palmer, but the red card which followed soon after meant it was too little, too late.

Reece James has been speaking about the influence Cesar Azpilicueta had on him as a player over the years after the Spaniard’s retirement.