Chelsea fans had a very frightening summer, and it looked like the best players, including Eden Hazard, were about to leave the club. There are still some talks that Real Madrid might steal Hazard from Chelsea, but it seems unlikely now. Other main players stayed with the team as well. The only major loss was Courtois' going to Madrid, but in my opinion, Kepa has the potential to be even better than Courtois in a couple of years.
On top of that, Chelsea added Kovacic and Jorginho to the team. Both of those players already showed that they could be useful, but let's be honest, the most significant summer victory for Chelsea was hiring Maurizio Sarri. From what we hear right now, Sarri is also extremely happy to be in London and has no regret that he left Napoli. Well, his only regret might be the fact that people cannot smoke in stadiums during the Premier League games.
All these factors seem to be positive, and fans are happy with 9 points in the Premier League in the first 3 games. Also, most of the experts call Sarri one of the best managers out there, but one fact remains - Sarri has not won a single title with Napoli. The team played amazingly but has not won a title. So, can Sarri change things up in Chelsea and starting winning titles? Or will he be another Klopp?
Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
It was very interesting to watch Chelsea play against a weaker team like Newcastle, which defends with 10 men and doesn't even try to attack. It was obvious that Newcastle were aiming for 0-0.
Sarri has finally let Hazard and Kovacic start the game, leaving Willian and Barkley on the bench. In my personal opinion, Chelsea have started the game with all their best 11 players on the pitch (Willian is superb, but he is not in form right now). Eden Hazard looked fully fit to get tackled by Newcastle defenders for 90 minutes. That is a good sign. Fans will be buying Hazard to their fantasy teams after today.
Chelsea had 81 percent of possession which is more than I can remember ever seeing in a Premier League game. Sadly, Chelsea players were out of ideas when it mattered the most and for the first 70 minutes, we did not see a single chance to score a goal. That is when Sarri has substituted Morata and let Giroud play. It allowed Chelsea to make more crosses into the box and expect Giroud to win some air battles.
However, the first goal came from wonderful efforts from Hazard and Alonso. Hazard has passed the ball in the penalty area to Alonso, the most attacking defender in the Premier League, who was fouled by Newcastle defenders. Eden Hazard converted the penalty shot. 1-0.
5 minutes later, Newcastle have made their first effort on the other side of the pitch and ironically, that was enough to score a goal. Of course, fans will point out the fact that Yedlin has fouled Giroud before he passed the ball to Joselu, but without VAR in the Premier League, nothing much can be done to overrule bad calls from the refs. 1-1.
Things did not look bright for Chelsea but the team continued to push for that winning goal, which came 4 minutes after the equalizer. Willian sent a high ball to Giroud, who won it and made a beautiful pass to Alonso. Alonso launched the ball toward the goal. Yedlin tried to clear the ball but his efforts were miserable. Own goal. Chelsea defended well after that and won the game 2-1.
What can we expect in the future?
The Champions League starts very soon so the big teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham will have to concentrate on two fronts. Chelsea, however, is not playing in the Champions League this year which might be beneficial in the local league. Of course, there is the Europe League, but big clubs don't give a damn about those tournaments most of the time.
Chelsea also have some decent players who are still waiting for their shot. I would love to see Loftus-Cheek finally getting some minutes but Sarri has some other ideas for now. That said, everyone will have to be fit and present during December, the most intense period of the season. Manchester City and Liverpool have a lot of quality players in their rotation and I am a little concerned that it might be too much for Chelsea.
However, fans should be more concerned about the nearest future. Chelsea will play the next 3 matches against Bournemouth, Cardiff, and Hammers, so I expect at least 7 points. 9 are possible as well. After those 3 games, we will finally be able to see where Sarri and his boys stand when they go to Anfield.
It is still early to make predictions, but Chelsea is one of the teams that surprised me the most this year. If they manage to get point(s) in Anfield against Liverpool next month, I will start believing that Sarri might create a miracle.
What do you think about Chelsea this year? Is this team capable to compete against Liverpool and Man City?