Are Chelsea title contenders?

Karan Ahgun

— 4 min read
Are Chelsea title contenders?

After a couple of seasons of chaos on and off the pitch, Chelsea look to have found a formula which has helped the team move forward to a point where some are saying that they could be involved in this season's title race. Chelsea are now joint second going into the busy festive period, so how strong are Chelsea's title credentials?

When Enzo Maresca was appointed as Head Coach of Chelsea in the summer, many were not convinced by him. His predecessor, Mauricio Pochettino, ended last season in good form and his sacking was puzzling. Maresca himself would not have been known to many fans except for his time at Leicester City last season where he won the Championship. Being a student of Pep Guardiola would have earned Maresca some support, especially after seeing the likes of Mikel Arteta turning things around for Arsenal and making them into consistent title challengers. Chelsea's spending over the past two years has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny but there have been some good buys in that time, who are really starting to flourish under Maresca. The likes of Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson have started to make an impact in the Premier League, whilst the ever-mercurial Cole Palmer comes up with crucial moments in games to swing them in the favour of his team.

Chelsea's goalscoring has been the most impressive aspect of their overall performance this season. The 5-1 victory over Southampton on Wednesday night was yet another showing of Chelsea's attacking brilliance this season and was also a record-breaking performance in the game had the largest ever xG for an away side in Premier League history at 5.29 xG. The Blues are the league's top scorers with 31 goals and with such an array of attacking talent in the squad, it is hard to see them being unable to score goals on a regular basis. Nicolas Jackson seems to have come of age this season with the Senegalese striker having scored 8 Premier League goals and providing a threatening link up with Cole Palmer. Last season, Jackson was often ridiculed for his finishing even though he scored 14 times in the league but this season, he has managed to convince doubters of his credibility as Chelsea's main striker through some excellent performances.

Whilst the signs in attack are promising, there are still some concerns when it comes to Chelsea's defence and goalkeeper. Robert Sanchez has already come in for some criticism from Chelsea fans this season. Sanchez doesn't fill his defence with confidence and is somewhat cumbersome when he's in possession of the ball which can often lead to mistakes which lead to good chances or goals for the opposition. Chelsea have a few goalkeepers on their books including Filip Jorgensen and Marcus Bettinelli but even they are not yet ready to take on the No. 1 spot and don't have the credentials to justify them being title-fighting calibre goalkeepers. Chelsea's defence is still maturing too and they are susceptible to making mistakes which grant opposition attackers big opportunities to score. Players such as Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill have certainly improved as the season has progressed but injuries are a concern for the former and would therefore break up the consistency they both have gained in this partnership. There has also been an improvement in the form of Marc Cucurella, who has carried his form from the EUROs into this season and has been undroppable for Chelsea. He's been valuable to Chelsea playing both as a conventional full-back or inverting into the midfield and Chelsea will be hoping not to lose him to any major injury this season.

Even though Chelsea are currently 2nd in the Premier League, this season might be too soon for them to challenge for the title. Their main worries come defensively where there is still room for improvement and injury issues which can disturb the consistency of the team. Maybe if they are with 5-7 points of the top in February they can be considered an actual title contender but as Mourinho once said, Chelsea are still a "little horse that needs milk".

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