Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Chelsea are struggling with player shortages in their squad.
The Blues' latest Premier League defeat to Manchester City has all but confirmed the end of their title bid for this season.
Without a win in the league since Boxing Day, Chelsea are now 13 points behind City, with Pep Guardiola's side seemingly cruising to another championship.
But Tuchel has conceded that it's difficult to compete when you're unable to use your full squad, as Liverpool proved in the last campaign.
As per the Mirror, speaking after the 1-0 loss to City, Tuchel said: “Of course we will try to improve, but if you mean do we need other players, I think we just need our whole squad.
“Were Liverpool able to compete last year for the title? No. The only real difference was that they were lacking Virgil van Dijk.
“I said it many times, key players are key players because they are key in everything they do and every way in which they behave.
“To compete and do what we need to do for 90 minutes, we need everyone and we’ve struggled because of long-term injuries and Covid.
“Still we are reliable and still we want to push ourselves, and still we will not make excuses. It’s just to explain the situation.”
Now that Chelsea are all but out of the race for the Premier League, there may well be a shift in focus that prioritises the cup competitions for the rest of the campaign.
The Blues are through to the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on 27 February, where they will face either Liverpool or Arsenal.
In the FA Cup, Tuchel's side have been drawn at home to League One side Plymouth in the fourth round after they beat National League team Chesterfield 5-1 in the last round.
Meanwhile, Chelsea travel to the UAE next month for the World Club Cup, with their opening match due to take place on 9 February.
Nevertheless, Tuchel will still have to strengthen his squad if he wants to go as far as possible in every competition they are still competing in.
