Gary Lineker believes Chelsea are making progress despite their FA Cup semi final defeat to Manchester City, adding the club must play the “long game at some point.”
The Blues came up short against Pep Guardiola’s side thanks to Bernardo Silva’s strike in the 84th minute, but missed a host of great opportunities, and had an appeal for a penalty turned down following a shout for handball.
Defeat means Mauricio Pochettino’s side will end the campaign without silverware for the second consecutive season, the first time this has happened since Roman Abramovich took the club over in 2003.
Despite defeat, the Blues can take positives from their performance against the Premier League champions, and Lineker believes there are signs of improvement at Stamford Bridge.
“Man City got through but Chelsea are making progress, aren’t they?, the England legend told The Rest is Football.
“They have got to play a long game at some point at Chelsea, you can’t keep changing things every six months.
“They are on a decent run, playing better.”
Kevin De Bruyne was named man of the match but Lineker feels Cole Palmer was probably the best player on the pitch.
“They have got a bit of a superstar in Cole Palmer, we have talked about him a lot in recent weeks and I thought he was probably the best player on the pitch”, the 63-year-old added.
“He didn’t get the Man of the Match because it always seems to have to go to somebody on the winning side.”
Chelsea will be aiming to put their Wembley disappointment behind them as they prepare to take on Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
The Blues are embroiled in a tight race for Europa League qualification with Newcastle and Manchester United, and sit three points behind their rivals with a game in hand.
A win against the Gunners, which is one Chelsea’s games in hand will see Pochettino’s men move level on points with their counterparts.
So refreshing to read a Chelsea news article that isn’t intensely (and unnecessarily) negative!