Jose Mourinho was quick to dismiss any talk of a quadruple after progressing to the semifinals of the Capital One Cup after a 3-1 win over Derby. Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been quick to back those suggestions by saying that it is almost impossible to do it.
The Manchester United team of 1999 came the closest to achieving a quadruple, but they ultimately fell short by finishing with just three trophies. Even then, United needed a lot of luck and an extremely strong squad to achieve this feat. Chelsea certainly have the best starting line-up in England right now, but do we necessarily have the strongest squad capable? According to Sky Sports, Carragher said:
“I don’t think so, it will be very difficult. There was talk of them going unbeaten and that went and I would imagine sooner or later they will lose a game in a cup competition. That is normal for any team really.
“They are the best side in the country and one of the top sides in Europe, but no team in England has ever won the quadruple. United did the treble in 1999 but I’m not sure winning all four will ever be done. It’s very difficult. I am sure Jose Mourinho would be happy if he got a couple of trophies this season.”
Bookmakers are heavily backing Chelsea to lift the Premier League title and odds of 4/9. Despite being drawn against Paris St Germain in the last 16 stage of the Champions League, there is a lot of confidence that this Chelsea team can go beyond the semi-final run of last season.
In the past, there have been occasions when focusing on four titles took a huge toll on the squad. Looking past the starting line-up featuring the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, and Nemanja Matic, we do not seem extremely strong across the pitch. Kurt Zouma, thankfully, has not suffered a serious injury after being stretchered off against Derby, but it feels as though Chelsea have been able to do well largely because players have been able to avoid serious injuries so far.
The talk of becoming the next Invincibles certainly put a huge pressure on the team. Let’s hope that it is not the case with the talk about quadruples.
