Chelsea still have much to play for this season – Cesc Fabregas

Chelsea have plenty left to fight for this season despite trailing Premier League leaders Manchester City by a cavernous 16 points, according to midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The champions’ title defence has not quite gone according to plan, although much of that is down to the breathtaking form of City, with Pep Guardiola’s side still unbeaten in the league this campaign.



However, Fabregas is adamant Chelsea – who remain in three cup competitions – will keep competing for the league until it is mathematically impossible to catch City, starting with Leicester City’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

“We are having a good season, but obviously in the Premier League Man City are having a super season,” he told Soccer Saturday. “So when you see a team being so advanced in the table and so many points in front, it is not easy.

“That does not mean that the others are doing badly, but they are doing incredibly well. Everything is going their way, they are scoring many times in the last minute – this is credit to them obviously because they keep pushing.

“Everything goes their way, everything they touch turns to gold. In a way, this is a bit frustrating for the others, but we just have to keep going.

“We are in the Champions League, semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, we are still in the FA Cup, so there is a lot to play for.

“If you ask me now, it is difficult to catch them because they keep winning. But we are still mid-January and this is the Premier League and anything can happen. A lot of competitions and games in front of us and them as well.

“We just have to keep up the good work, keep fighting, winning, three points after three points and then see what happens in the end.”

The Foxes head to west London having been revived under new manager Claude Puel and sit in a healthy position of eighth in the table.

Despite their recent upturn in form, though, the Spain international says nothing but three points will do this weekend.

“You are talking about Chelsea FC, you have to win,” said Fabregas. “They demand you to win, you have to demand yourself to win, the manager wants you to win, this is our obligation.

“It will definitely be difficult, we know how they play and like to play with two lines of four. They are very compact and have [Jamie] Vardy and [Riyad] Mahrez, who are top players, and they play the counter-attacks very well.

“So we just have to keep an eye on them and be ready to play our game and hopefully win.”