Why it is not too late for Chelsea to challenge for the Premier League title

There was a sense of excitement and enthusiasm among the Chelsea supporters when Maurizio Sarri became their new manager. The whole of Europe was in awe with Sarri’s Napoli last season as he almost beat Juventus to the Serie A title.

The first thing Sarri did after taking over was to ensure he had his most trusted general, Jorginho, with him again. Jorginho completed the switch from Naples to London along with his manager and that move has given the Chelsea midfield a completely new look altogether. Apart from Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic came on loan from Real Madrid and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived on deadline day from Athletic Bilbao.

These transfers have increased the depth in the squad and the results are there for the fans to see. Sarri’s men have started the Premier League in the best way possible, by getting 3 wins out of 3 matches so far. Going forward, Chelsea look as good as anybody in the league.

It’s not just the attackers who are finding life great under Maurizio Sarri. Marcos Alonso has had an unbelievable season so far. The Spaniard scored the winner against Arsenal and assisted two more at St. James’ Park. Even when he was under Antonio Conte, Alonso loved bombing forward but now, with the likes of Jorginho to cover up the spaces behind him, Alonso is effectively playing as a left winger.

Even the likes of Pedro and Morata, who struggled for form last season, seem rejuvenated. N’Golo Kante, probably the world’s best defensive midfielder, has an entirely different role in Sarri’s system. He has been given the freedom to support the attack and make late runs into the box. His goal against Huddersfield Town was the prime example of that.

One area of concern for Sarri though is his defence. The centre-back pairing of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger hasn’t been rock-solid so far. Even the reliable Cesar Azpilicueta has been facing problems at right-back. Chelsea did win the game against Arsenal but on any other day, the Gunners could have and should have scored half a dozen goals against the Blues.

Sarri is a manager who is more than capable of solving these defensive issues. It’s just that it is still early days for the Italian and he must try to understand each and every player in his squad. The fact that his Napoli side conceded just 28 goals in the Serie A last season, makes it obvious that he is a manager who likes to focus on his defence as much as he does on the attack.

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Chelsea’s participation in the Europa League does complicate things a bit but if Sarri rotates his squad ably, there is no reason why the Blues can’t challenge for the title again.