Chelsea have slowly but steadily forced everyone to take cognisance of their impressive rise in the Premier League tableThe West Londoners are currently in second place, but their manager, Enzo Maresca, has shut down talk of league contentionTUKO.co.ke looks at why Chelsea are Premier League contenders this season as Maresca’s young squad continues to turn heads
At the start of the season, it was a far-fetched idea that Chelsea would be in the title conversation anytime in the near future.
A new manager with no Premier League experience, 728293 players, a transfer model that no one could make sense of apart from the sporting directors, a racism chant that threatened to derail squad unity; nothing seemed to be working for Chelsea.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca. Photo by Robin Jones.
Source: Getty Images
But with 14 games of the season done, the Blues sit in second place with 28 points, and once again, they look like a coherent side, as they once were under Roman Abramovich.
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Enzo Maresca: From crisis to Premier League contention
Enzo Maresca has no prior experience coaching a top-flight club, but he was trusted to lead this young squad in desperate need of an identity. The Italian has so far exuded a calm but firm approach, equally praising and criticising his troops while making bold decisions to ostracise the most experienced players in the group.
He might not yet have the wherewithal and tactical ingenuity of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta’s shrewdness, or Arne Slot’s squad of seasoned competitors, but the former Leicester City man has already shown glimpses of how he wants his team to play. And boy, aren’t Chelsea entertaining—they are averaging 2.6 goals per game this season.
Huge squad turns out to be a blessing
Taking in the 44-year-old’s instructions is a group of 23-plus players whose average age is 23 years and 234 days old. Much had been said about Chelsea’s bloated squad, but Maresca managed to whittle it down to two players in each position.
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Chelsea arguably has the best squad depth in the division with Maresca having the luxury of changing his whole XI and still remaining competitive. They pumped five goals past Southampton with an in-form Nicolas Jackson watching from afar all evening.
With the tight schedule of a game every three days, Maresca can change his squad to keep them fresh while other coaches grapple with increased workload for their players. Cole Palmer, for example, has been set aside specifically for Premier League games.
Conference League advantage
Chelsea’s participation in Europe’s weakest cup tournament also has its advantages, as Maresca doesn’t have to field his strongest starting XI in the league phase. And they still win 8-0.
Tried and tested against last season’s top teams
After 14 games, Chelsea have already played Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Newcastle, and they are in second place. Spurs are the only team from last season’s top eight that they have yet to play. They meet on Sunday.
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Weaknesses of opponents
Looking at the opponents’ weaknesses, Liverpool might be seven points clear, but this is all down to Mohamed Salah, who has had a hand in 75% of the Reds’ goals this season. For how long can they profit from the Egyptian’s form?
Pep Guardiola is yet to figure out how to compete consistently without Rodri anchoring his engine room, and unless Manchester City find answers to their midfield, they might struggle to maintain a challenge.
Arsenal looked lost without Martin Odegaard pulling the strings a couple of weeks ago. Mikel Arteta’s side are back to full strength, but how they manage the Norwegian when the games start coming in thick and fast could determine if they finally win a title in over 20 years.
Chelsea’s inexperience could be a stumbling block
Only Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella and the unavailable duo of Reece James and Ben Chilwell have won a big trophy in the current Chelsea set-up, and it will be interesting to see how the inexperienced side reacts when the heat gets cranked up.
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Their position on the table might have come sooner than expected; they might be just enjoying their football right now as they build up for next season, but forget what Enzo Maresca is saying: Chelsea are title contenders.
Madueke responds to fan
Henzodaily.ng earlier reported that Madueke gave a cunny reply to an aggrieved Chelsea fan who had called on Maresca to bench the England forward after a run of poor form.
The Blues forward had gone four games without scoring following his hat-trick against Wolves, sparking outrage from some set of supporters who believe he does not merit a starting berth
Source: TUKO.co.ke