Chelsea maintained their red-hot form as they beat Southampton FC in a 6-goal thriller, winning 5-1 against the saints on Wednesday evening. Ever since the early stages of the season it is clear to see that Chelsea have massively improved compared to the previous two campaigns in which they finished 12th and sixth respectively. However, this season under new Head coach Enzo Maresca the blues seem to be proving doubters wrong and competing well against every opponent faced in front of them. This begs the question, are Chelsea in the title race?
The previous two season were underwhelming to say the least for Chelsea, this season it is a completely different story. New Head coach Maresca has transformed the club into a force to be reckoned with and is using his large squad to his advantage, often rotating all starting 11 players between Premier League and UEFA Conference League matches. The atmosphere around Stamford Bridge as changed for the better, with the players, fans, coaching staff as well as board members all on track with the objectives the club has for this season. Chelsea are known for winning trophies so that will likely be the next step for Maresca, to win a trophy this season. This shouldn’t be new to him as he won the EFL Championship with Leicester City last season.
Due to Chelsea positive and surprising start to the season, many have questioned whether or not the Blues are title contenders. Chelsea have dealt with the majority of teams they have faced this season only losing twice, these losses came against first place Liverpool and current champions Manchester City. Chelsea will be filled with confidence as they are the top goal scorers in the division and currently seem unstoppable.
When Maresca was asked in his press conference if Chelsea can compete to win the Premier League this season, he claimed that his side “are not there” compared to the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City. Many fans have suggested that Maresca is playing mind games, whilst as others believe he is staying humble and not getting carried away with his sides strong form.
The Head coach wants to take “each game at a time”, constantly focusing on his sides next opponent rather than looking further down the line at possible outcomes. Either way the Italian has ruled his side out of the title race, but many believe that they could be dark horses this season. In terms of the rest of Chelsea’s season It appears that they will continue to approach each game with the same mentality which is to win and then see where they finish come the end of the season. I’m sure many sides will be watching Chelsea this season and will want to avoid playing them with the current form that they are in. The sky is the limit for Maresca’s Blues! Can they go all the way?