With four games gone and the first international break of the season already upon us, we take a look at the performance of the Premier League’s title contenders so far.
Chelsea’s start to the season had, not for the first time, been shrouded in controversy and uncertainty, with the summer-long saga involving Antonio Conte having finally concluded with the arrival of Maurizio Sarri. Sarri has brought with him an attacking, attractive playing style from his time at Napoli and looks to already be having a positive effect on the Chelsea squad.
After four games, Chelsea find themselves joint top of the Premier League table with a maximum 12 points already on the board, with one of those victories being over local rivals Arsenal. A return of 10 goals in the four games is an indication that Sarri’s style of play looks to already be taking effect, even despite the absence of an in-form striker within the Chelsea squad.
With only one goal to show for his efforts so far this season, Alvaro Morata continues to be a weak link in the Chelsea front three, with Pedro and Eden Hazard being responsible for half of the goals scored in the campaign at this stage. The lack of firepower from Morata and Olivier Giroud will be a cause for concern for Chelsea going forward, and will undoubtedly be an area in which Chelsea will look to improve in the January transfer window.
The summer acquisition of Jorginho looks to have already had a positive impact on the midfield of Chelsea this season. With a Premier League high of 465 touches and 417 completed passes, Jorginho has certainly filled the void in central midfield that appeared after the departure of Nemanja Matic last summer, and Sarri already looks vindicated in his decision to poach former club Napoli for his signature.
Jorginho’s calm and controlling presence has also freed N’Golo Kanté from his defensive responsibilities, who’s already scored as many goals this season (1), as he did in the entirety of last season. Ross Barkley and on-loan signing Mateo Kovacic also look to be benefitting from playing alongside Jorginho. With Barkley and Kovacic vying for the one remaining spot in Chelsea’s midfield three, both seem to be benefitting from the competition for the spot so far this campaign.
New goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has also made a positive start to life at Stamford Bridge, with two clean sheets to his name. After a record fee for a goalkeeper of £72m was spent on Kepa, there were concerns that the pressure of replacing Thibaut Courtois may be too much for the 23 year-old, but a confident start to his Chelsea career has alleviated some of those concerns among the Chelsea support.
Aside from the striker problem, the only other area in which Chelsea will need improvement in order to mount a real title challenge is in central defence. Since the departure of John Terry, Chelsea have lacked a leader in their back line The current pairing of Antonio Rüdiger and David Luiz both seem to be lacking the vocal, commanding presence that’s required in a title winning defence, which has already culminated in the conceding of sloppy goals in their narrow 3-2 victory against Arsenal.
Despite the short time Maurizio Sarri has had over the summer to prepare with his squad, and with little time left to bring in his desired reinforcements over the summer transfer window, he will certainly be very impressed with the start his team have had to the season. If they can continue to control games as they have done so far, they may well find themselves in with a chance of challenging favourites Manchester City come the end of the season.