Former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri has backed his former side to finish in the top four this season, despite their horrendous title-defending campaign.
Ranieri, now in charge of Premier League leaders Leicester City, says that his former side have suffered from bad luck so far, but that he expects them to turn that around.
He said, as reported by ITV:
Their record does not mean anything as Chelsea are Chelsea and Mourinho is Mourinho. I’m sure at the end of the season they will be in the top four. I still think they will make the Champions League. For now it is bad luck but when they start to win they will arrive.
Chelsea face Leicester on Monday Night Football next week, and at the start of the season, there would have been no surprise to learn that one of the sides involved was sat at the top of the table while the other was occupying 14th position. However, nobody would have predicted that the Foxes would be top of the pile with the defending Champions just two points above the relegation zone.
Despite their poor form in the league. Ranieri says that the victory that Chelsea had against Jose Mourinho’s former club Porto, one that secured their passage to the knockout stages of the Champions League, would be the kick-start to bigger and better things.
I respect them a lot because I watched the match last night. They played very well with good concentration. They are used to doing this as they are the champions. Sooner or later they will start. It was good for Chelsea to win and now in two or three months everything will change. I’m sure they will be ready to fight.
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