So how's it going with Chelsea?
Pretty well, if not perfect.
Hi everyone, hope you’re enjoying the season if you celebrate such things. I got caught up in it, hence this is (depressingly predictably) late, but I hope you still enjoy it.
Data is from FBRef unless stated otherwise.
People weren’t exactly frothing at the mouth to watch Chelsea before the start of the season.
They had two years of total chaos under BlueCo’s ownership, which added to some strains at the end of Roman Abramovich and Thomas Tuchel’s tenure. It had been a while since Chelsea were “good”, and the strategy clearly looked wrong. I personally felt like Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking was harsh, with Enzo Maresca lacking much in the way of a track record. From the outside, it did not look like a club primed for success at all. And yet, overall, it’s going pretty well. Yes, there have been recent setbacks, but we’re talking about a very successful half-season overall.
Here’s how their points and league position after 18 games compare to the last few seasons:
21/22: 3rd place, 38 points
22/23: 10th place, 25 points
23/24: 11th place, 22 points
24/25: 2nd place, 35 points
Chelsea, it seems, are back to “normal”. Catching Liverpool might be asking a lot when they’re seven points behind having played a game more, but this is still a hugely positive step. Their average age weighted by minutes played is 24.0 years old, comfortably the youngest in the league. It’s going right for them.
They’re doing it in a style that’s good to watch. Maresca was expected to bring in a patient possession style, but that’s not totally what’s happened. His only senior track record came from promoting Leicester who, if we’re honest, had a clear talent advantage over every other team in the Championship. That might have nudged him towards assuming his style at the King Power Stadium. Chelsea, on the other hand, are merely better than most teams in the Premier League and have adopted a style that’s just a little faster and more transition-based. It’s not always perfect, but it’s good to watch.