Chelsea Title Hope Rocked by Shock Loss at Ipswich

Enzo Maresca admitted Chelsea should not think about challenging for the Premier League title after lowly Ipswich beat the Blues 2-0 at Portman Road on Monday.

- Agencies

IPSWICH: Enzo Maresca admitted Chelsea should not think about challenging for the Premier League title after lowly Ipswich beat the Blues 2-0 at Portman Road on Monday.

Maresca's side were rocked by Liam Delap's early penalty and a second-half goal from former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson.

Chelsea's second successive defeat after their Boxing Day loss against Fulham left them without a win in their last three matches.

The west Londoners had emerged as surprise title contenders after an eight-match winning run in all competitions.

But Maresca had insisted throughout that spell that Chelsea's inexperienced squad do not have what it takes to win the title in his first season after arriving from Leicester.

And the Italian's prediction looks spot on after a shock result in Suffolk that leaves Chelsea in fourth place, 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

"We focus game by game. We are not focused on title race or those things," Maresca said.