If you had told most Premier League followers before a ball was kicked this season that Chelsea would be second in the table when December rolled around, they probably would have laughed in your face. But four months into the 2024-25 campaign, that is the unlikely reality.
Under new head coach Enzo Maresca, the Blues have gone quietly about their work, developing as a team and building momentum by only suffering defeat in two league games against big-hitters Manchester City and Liverpool.
Unbeaten in the league since visiting Anfield in October, a run of three-straight victories has seen the west Londoners soar to second place ahead of a date with London rivals Tottenham on Sunday. Their form has led to one question repeatedly being asked of Maresca in his press conferences and post-match interviews: are Chelsea in the title race?
‘Chelsea are back’
Unexpected as it may be, the positivity around Chelsea right now is palpable. The full-time whistle in Wednesday night’s thumping victory over the 10-men of Southampton at St Mary’s was greeted with chants of ‘We’ve got our Chelsea back’ from the away end – perhaps the biggest endorsement yet of Maresca’s work as the club finally pulls clear of the darkest period in its modern history.
“It was a very good feeling [hearing the chants] especially because you can see they are happy,” the Italian said afterwards. “It’s our target. We work every day to keep them happy. Tonight it was a very good feeling, especially the one where they say ‘Chelsea is back’. This is important.
“The results help a lot, and calm down the noise around the club. It’s a good feeling to see the fans happy after the last two years when many things happened. You can see now the feeling from them is good.”
Goal machines
The five strikes they rattled in against their sorry opponents on the south coast quietly propelled the Blues into second in the Premier League, ahead of London rivals Arsenal – the side widely considered to be best placed to challenge Liverpool for the title – on goal difference
Indeed, Chelsea’s free-scoring attack has been the backbone of their unexpected success this season; their current goals-per-game ratio of 2.6 (57 goals in 22 games) is the highest in the club’s entire history, while they set a record at St Mary’s with their xG (expected goals) total of 5.29 – the highest of any away side since records began in 2008-09.
Of course, this should arguably come as little surprise given an attacking arsenal that includes the likes of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix, as well as plenty more, but no-one could have predicted that things would go so well and gel so swiftly under Maresca.
The Blues could even afford to leave their second-highest league scorer, Jackson, on the bench throughout at Southampton, in a testament to their overall firepower.
‘We are not ready’
As Maresca says, there is a growing sense that ‘Chelsea are back’, emerging as an attacking force, playing an attractive brand of football and challenging right at the top of the table. But are they in the title race?
Their head coach was unequivocal in his response as he fielded that question yet again before facing Tottenham on Sunday: “We are very happy for the fans, absolutely because they deserve to live this moment. They can dream. We are very happy. We work every day to also make them happy and proud of the players. I’ve said many times, I don’t think we are there or ready to compete with Arsenal, Liverpool and City.”
He had previously said: “The good thing is we are improving. Soon, hopefully, we can be there. For sure, we need to improve many things. We can attack better, we can defend better, but for me, what we need is that you need to live moments to get better.”
How ‘soon’, only time will tell, but as Chelsea continue to grow – or regrow in confidence and stature, it will be interesting to see whether the manager’s stance shifts. For now, it’s clear he wants to protect his young squad from heightened expectation.
Long-term goals
Behind closed doors, it seems Maresca’s feelings are shared by the club’s leadership. It has been reported that the Chelsea hierarchy have no plans to review the targets they set at the beginning of the season, which were to challenge for a top-four place and show progress from last season with a new-and-improved style of play – boxes that are currently being ticked.
The players, too, are not getting ahead of themselves. Palmer was typically impudent when asked why the Blues couldn’t be considered title contenders following the win over Villa, rolling his eyes and saying: “Nah, it’s too early, man. We’re just starting this season so we’re just playing.”
There is the sense that everyone is pulling in the same direction: aim for those pre-season targets and take every game as it comes with a view to longer-term success. The head coach believes Chelsea are set for a period of domination.
“I still think what I said to the owners and the sporting directors the first time I met them: because of the age [profiles of the players], because of how good the squad is…for me, Chelsea, in the next five to 10 years will be one of the teams or the team that is going to dominate English football,” he said recently.
Nothing to lose
Equally, though, the message behind the scenes will surely be to go for broke from this point on and see what happens. The poor starts of presumed top-four contenders Manchester United, Tottenham, Aston Villa AND Newcastle mean the Blues are already in pole position to achieve their dream of a Champions League place, currently five points clear of fifth-placed Brighton.
The well-documented recent woes of champions Manchester City have left the door open to their rivals to mount a challenge, with the onus currently on Liverpool to keep their cool for the remainder of the season. Just seven points clear now, there is a long way to go.
With games against Everton, Ipswich and Crystal Palace among those to come after Sunday’s clash with Spurs, Chelsea have a chance to build even more momentum across the congested festive period, especially as their strength in depth is greater than many of those around them.
Much will depend on City’s ability rediscover their powers as a juggernaut, but second in the table ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, the west Londoners are as well placed as anyone to give it a go in the coming months.
Balancing act
However, the blessing of a squad brimming with talent could quickly become a curse. Chelsea have the youngest group in the Premier League, and while they have been playing with a youthful exuberance and fearlessness, it could present other problems down the line.
Maresca’s biggest challenge this season may well come internally as he tries to keep everyone happy. Palmer, Madueke, Felix and Jadon Sancho have all demonstrated that they are big egos, with the latter two both falling out with their previous managers over a lack of game time at Atletico Madrid and Manchester United, respectively.
The head coach has handled that task adroitly to this point, although it remains to be seen how long he can switch between his so-called ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams without disturbing the peace.
His rotation against Aston Villa and Southampton suggests that perhaps he is beginning to look at the bigger picture, with Moises Caicedo used as an inverted full-back to accommodate Romeo Lavia and both Nkunku and Felix returning to the fray.
How long will the harmony last? Who knows. But for the time being at least, everyone at Chelsea seems to be pulling in the same direction.
