Chelsea's final 6 Premier League fixtures compared to Newcastle Utd and Man City as Enzo Maresca blames fans

Chelsea’s hopes of finishing in the top five were dealt a blow as they were held to a 2-2 draw by relegation-bound Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 5-2 on Saturday while Newcastle United claimed a 4-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday. City are now one point above Chelsea while Newcastle are two above Enzo Maresca’s men and they also have a game in hand - against Oliver Glasner’s Palace this week.

Nottingham Forest are now just three points ahead of Chelsea after they suffered a dramatic 1-0 loss against Everton on Saturday. Meanwhile, Aston Villa are now level on points with Chelsea after beating Southampton 3-0. It was confirmed last week the Premier League will have five teams enter the Champions League next season.

Enzo Maresca blames fans for Ipswich Town draw

Ipswich took a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge after goals from Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson in the first half. Chelsea fought back in the second 45 minutes after an Axel Tuanzebe own goal immediately after the restart before Jadon Sancho fired in the equaliser on 79 minutes.

After the game, Maresca blamed his side’s draw on a loss of confidence and on the atmosphere within Stamford Bridge. He said: “We lost a little bit of confidence, because we conceded, probably because of the environment. This is the moment that you have to continue doing the right things and don't change the plan

“We are a team that most of the time, our goal kick will start from playing short. The second goal, we decide to play long, because the environment was there, and we conceded. You have to be strong, you have to continue with the things that you are doing.”

On the fans, he added: “We are stronger with our fans. We are a better team. It’s up to them to decide the way. For sure, in the moment that we are in a difficult moment, you can expect that they are not happy, but in the same moment, probably it's the moment that the players, especially the players that are inside the pitch, probably need more support.”

Chelsea’s final 6 Premier League games compared to Nottingham Forest, Man City, Newcastle & Aston Villa

With five teams now vying for the final three Champions League spots, here’s how Chelsea’s final run of games compares to the teams around them...

Chelsea: Fulham (A), Everton (H), Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), Man Utd (H), Nottingham Forest (A).

Nottingham Forest: Tottenham (A), Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), Leicester (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H).

Man City: Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (H) Southampton (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A).

Newcastle United: Crystal Palace (H), Aston Villa (A), Ipswich Town (H), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal, (A) Everton (H).

Aston Villa: Newcastle United (H), Man City (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Man Utd (A).

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