Chelsea’s season plumbed new depths in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Arsenal, not just in that it was the sixth defeat of Frank Lampard’s six-game reign but also the manner in which the team seemed to disintegrate in the first half.
It is difficult to see where the team’s next win is coming from, and with three of the top four still to play as well as a trip to buoyant Bournemouth on Saturday, it may not come until August.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what has gone wrong and what hope this team have for the future.
How much worse can it get?
Materially, the answer appears to be ‘not much’. The team are not going to be relegated, though on current form that might be certain only because the season will run out of games before Chelsea run out of points.
The concern now is about what damage is being done to the players, staff and supporters psychologically on this desperately poor run-in, and how much time it will take to repair.
For a team this expensively assembled to lose six in a row – part of a winless run of eight during which only two goals have been scored – speaks to something more serious than a side lacking confidence and form.
Chelsea played like strangers in losing to Arsenal, world-class players seemingly unable to perform. The squad seem in a state of shock. The road back will not be straightforward.
What can be done in the short term?
The club appear to be damned whichever direction they move in.
Nobody could have predicted the speed or extent to which Lampard has looked out of his depth, but making yet another change barely a month after the latest one would not reflect well on the club.
Equally, putting the next permanent manager in the dugout now rather than letting him start with the spotlight off during the close-season could short-circuit the reboot at its inception.
Is there any good news?
Yes – the season is only five games from being over, but that could also be the bad news if losses keep piling up.
Yet for all the criticism of the way Todd Boehly has gone about Chelsea’s business, he has in an albeit wasteful and roundabout way assembled many of the parts that the club need in order to be a force again.
In Enzo Fernandez they have a genuine star of world football around whom a truly great team can be built, while Joao Felix – if he stays – is a game-changing talent with limitless potential.
Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk are fine young players starting to show signs of acclimatisation, and Wesley Fofana has hinted in flashes at why he was so highly regarded during his time at Leicester.
Scoring goals is a problem, and Christopher Nkunku – when he arrives from RB Leipzig in the summer – could be part of the solution.
Yet there remains the absence of a clinical, proven goalscorer and it is hard to see this team competing next season without one.
Could Pochettino be the man to turn things around?
This is another reason for supporters not to abandon hope. Mauricio Pochettino looks a decent fit for the urgent work that needs doing, with a proven record of transforming a squad of callow hopefuls into performers on the very biggest stage.
He ticks a lot of the boxes: tactical nous; good with young players; able to handle mature stars and their not-so-mature egos; charismatic.
Yet there is an almost unprecedented rebuild required at the club, and what success he has enjoyed in the past will not be a guarantee of anything.
If he is to turn things around, it will not happen overnight. But if anybody is going to get the club back on track, Pochettino looks as good a bet as anybody on the market.
Frank praises Brentford's pressing, sees no tactical revamp with Toney departure
Thomas Frank heaped praise on Brentford's pressing following their 3-1 victory over Southampton on Saturday.
Bryan Mbeumo scored twice from Brentford's forwards forcing the Southampton backline into errors as the Bees earned their second Premier League win of the season.
This did not go unnoticed by Frank, who believes his side rank as one of the best in the league when it comes to that specific aspect.
He told BBC Sport: "They made errors because we pressed them unbelievably well. I think we are one of the best teams to do the high pressure in the Premier League.
"The players are so committed and that is the reason why we capitalised on errors from Southampton.”
Despite the departure of Ivan Toney to Al-Ahli, Frank does not think their style of play will have to be restructured too much, with both Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa enjoying productive starts to the season in his absence.
Frank said: “Ivan is a fantastic player, I'd love to have him in the team but he has his own journey and is going elsewhere.
"Our style of play hasn't changed. Wissa and Ivan are different players but the style doesn't change.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin was frustrated with his side’s mistakes at crucial moments, believing their performance was far better than the scoreline suggested.
He said to the BBC: “We made two mistakes that we were punished for, which is frustrating and disappointing.
"I saw lots of good things to feel positive about. I feel a lot better this week than I did after the Nottingham Forest game.”
Guardiola has 'no words' for hat-trick hero Haaland
Pep Guardiola was lost for words to describe Erling Haaland after his eighth Premier League hat-trick fired Manchester City to a 3-1 victory over West Ham.
Having scored a treble to help City claim a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town on matchday two, Haaland did likewise on Saturday to keep them perfect as they edged out the Hammers at the London Stadium.
Haaland's seven goals this season are the most any player has ever netted in the first three matches of a Premier League campaign, while only Sergio Aguero (12), Alan Shearer (11) and Robbie Fowler (nine) have ever helped themselves to more match balls in the competition.
Across English football's top four tiers, he is also the first player to score two hat-tricks in a team's first three games of a league season since Bradford City's Paul Jewell in 1994-95.
The Norwegian has now scored more than once in 26% of his Premier League matches (18/69, eight hat-tricks, 10 braces), leaving Guardiola in disbelief.
"There are no words for him," Guardiola told BBC Sport.
"All we can do is make him play better and better and give him as many balls as possible into the box. It's what we have to do. We are there and we added quality.
"This is a team. When you have to run backward, no one asks who has to do it. Everyone has to. When we see Erling doing that, it is fantastic."
Haaland himself, meanwhile, believes having an extended pre-season due to Norway missing out on Euro 2024 has helped him start the season in peak condition.
"I feel good. I feel energised. I had a long vacation and a long pre-season. I'm feeling good," Haaland told City's website.
"The years here have gone quick and it's been going like, 'bam bam bam', now I have a little bit of rest in my body and my feet. I feel really good now and I'm ready for more.
"I feel more refreshed and more energised. So when you do that you can practice on things you want to become better at in training. I feel good. I want to become better. I'm happy."
City sit top of the early-season table with nine points from nine available and saw last season's runners-up Arsenal slip up on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Haaland, though, feels it is too early to think about the title race, adding: "They [City's rivals] haven't slipped up yet. Three games, nine points. This is a great start.
"But let's not think too far ahead, because there’s potentially 70 games left this season. Let's breathe a bit and take it game by game."
Lopetegui rues missed opportunity as West Ham lose to Man City
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was not encouraged by the performance of his team despite losing 3-1 at home to Manchester City in their third league game.
“It is true that City is one of the best teams around the world for sure… but it is also true too that in the second half we have been very close to a draw,” he said speaking to BBC Match of the Day.
“I think we have played one very good second half. The start has been very good for us too.”
West Ham threatened for extended periods of the match and had chances to level the match at 2-1 down, with the best coming from Mohammed Kudus as he smashed a shot against the bar in the second half.
They also started the game brightly before going a goal down inside 10 minutes.
“In my mind we started very well, being aggressive,” said Lopetegui.
“We know in this plan normally they have initiative, it’s very difficult to not concede initiative then. That’s why you have to do a lot of very good things to overcome them.
“In the second half we had chances, I think we kept the ball much more, much more, and didn't concede a lot of chances."
But the hosts were ultimately undone by the brilliant finishing of Erling Haaland, who scored his second hat-trick in as many matches.
“He is one of the best players in the world, that's why he plays for Manchester City,” he said.
“You have to compete with these kind of players. City has the power and the quality to create chances.”
But ultimately, he was left frustrated at the sense of a missed opportunity and that his team were unable to earn themselves a draw that hadn’t seemed implausible during the match.
“Today I think the first goal was a pity for us but I’ve said it. I was happy with the performance think we were able to draw but again they damage us,” he said.
“Against this kind of team, if you make a mistake they don’t forgive. This is the difference they have… A little mistake they punish you, they punish us.
“We have to improve, to know to compete against this kind of team to be close to perfection.
“Don't make mistakes, be calm, defend well… we have quality players too.”
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