Chelsea's Northern Expedition has been screaming for months, and now, no one seems to be embarrassed to mention it anymore, because the Premier League has already passed the halfway point of the season, and Chelsea have not moved much. The Northern Expedition has slowly turned from a positive energy stalk to a negative energy joke. At present, Chelsea firmly occupies the tenth position in the Premier League, and they can't go down, they can't go up, they can't go up, it's just so consumed. Manchester United have already started to move up, and the Blues have just stopped moving.
With Chelsea's financial resources, and the strength of the team on paper, they should never be like this. While the Premier League is fiercely competitive at the moment, Chelsea won't be denied a place in Europe, right? Even if the Northern Expedition has been reduced to the Europa League places, it will still be an impossible task for Chelsea.
Actually, Chelsea are not the worst, at least they don't fall into the Championship. And this season in European football, there are three traditional powerhouses, who once fell into the relegation zone, in fact, compared with Chelsea, they really need the Northern Expedition. At present, there is a team that has achieved remarkable results in the Northern Expedition and has achieved initial success.
Let's look at the other two first.
The first is Seville. Sevilla FC won last season's Europa League, but that doesn't hide the fact that their strength has declined. Sevilla have fallen into the relegation zone at one point this season, which is completely unacceptable for the most successful team in Europa League history. So, they have to climb up.
It can be said that Seville's Northern Expedition has a lot of space, not to talk about the actual strength, only to talk about objective standards, Sevilla at least has to get a Europa League place, right? But now, it is not optimistic, they have worked hard for a few months, but they have risen to 15th place, and the relegation alarm is initially lifted, but if the Northern Expedition continues, I am afraid the effect will not be too significant.
The second is Lyon. Who would have thought that the seven-time champion of Ligue 1 would fall to the bottom of Ligue 1 this season. Indeed, Lyon's strength has declined, and it is no longer the rivers and lakes it used to be. But Leon has a bit of a background after all, so he can't just lie flat like this, right? Therefore, the Northern Expedition must be on the agenda, after all, the penultimate is too ugly.
At present, Lyon have climbed to 11th place and, like Sevilla, they are still in danger of relegation. However, with their strength, it is really difficult to climb to the European theater. After all, in Ligue 1 this season, they are only marginal characters.
Finally, let's take a look at the aforementioned team that has seen its first fruits in the Northern Expedition – Ajax.
If it is understandable that Lyon once ranked at the bottom of the league, then Ajax once ranked first from the bottom this season is a bit of a dream. After all, the decay of Lyon, which has lasted for several years, provides a buffer for everyone's cognition. But what about Ajax? They were still playing in the Champions League last season, and they were third in the Eredivisie last season. Why did this season suddenly slip down?
To be honest, seeing Ajax appear in the bottom position of the Eredivisie is indeed a bit spicy. But fortunately, Ajax was brave and climbed up step by step, and the rhythm of the Northern Expedition was still in place. At the moment, Ajax have climbed to fifth, which is still a bit on the low side for Jax, but considering their poor experience this season, it is already a huge victory. If this momentum can be maintained, then it cannot be ruled out that Ajax can return to the Champions League zone. If that's the case, it's really a big shift in the world of football.
In addition to Chelsea, let's focus on these three teams. To be honest, it's a bit sad to see these traditional powerhouses now struggling to climb up the standings like snails. But snails can also be stubborn - the so-called traditional strong team, don't lose your soul.