Five wins from the opening five games is a perfect scenario for any club in the Premier League, but for Chelsea, it could be a cautionary tale.
The Blues, alongside Liverpool, are one of two teams in the English top flight to win their opening five games this season, yet the team everyone seems to be identifying as the closest title rivals to Manchester City is Jurgen Klopp’s side.
One summer, two different tales
And labelling Liverpool as the team most likely to challenge City for the title is understandable. The Reds made the Champions League final last season and improved their squad massively over the summer, signing Roma and Brazilian keeper Alisson Becker for a then-record fee of £66 million, as well as signing AS Monaco midfielder Fabinho and Stoke City winger Xherdan Shaqiri.
Chelsea, though, had a summer of transition on a much larger scale. Despite newly appointed manager Maurizio Sarri only making two major signings in the former of Jorginho from his former club Napoli and Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper Kepa for a record-breaking £80 million deal, the Blues have had to adapt quickly to one of the most unique managers in Europe.
Sarriball goes international
Renowned for his work in Naples and his beautiful style of football, many were sceptical whether or not Sarri would be the right man for Chelsea. After all, their previous Italian manager, Antonio Conte, was known for his constructive and precise style of play that won plaudits all over Europe.
The first few games under Sarri have shown why Chelsea pursued the Italian for so long. The Blues have played exciting, fluid football that is pleasing on the eye and is effective when executed well. But one flaw that has become apparent is the drop in defensive quality from the Conte years.
The 3-4-3 system Conte implemented at Chelsea allowed the West London side to trap opponents when they were on the attack and prevent them from scoring by limiting the amount of space in their third of the pitch, whilst under Sarri’s 4-3-3 the defence tends to leave gaps open at the back, and this has caused problems this season.
Relearning old tricks
The Blues have only kept two clean sheets all season and looked defensively woeful in some games, especially against Arsenal where the Gunners were able to come from 2-0 down to tie the game up to 2-2 before Marcos Alonso saved the day for Chelsea, and this weakness against big teams can be the difference between getting back in the Champions League or winning the title.
But if history has told us anything, it is that Chelsea over-perform after the appointment of a new manager. We saw this Jose Mourinho and Conte during their first seasons with the club, and it is safe to say we could see the same with Sarri should the defence buckle down and continue to play like in the days of old.
