It was a very good weekend to be a Chelsea fan; Liverpool didn’t play, with the Merseyside derby postponed due to Storm Darragh, and then both Arsenal and Manchester City were held to draws on the road.
Then, in Sunday’s headliner slot, the Blues fought back from 2-0 down to defeat fierce rivals Tottenham 4-2 away from home.
Enzo Maresca’s side appeared to be in big trouble when Spurs raced into a 2-0 lead inside 11 minutes, with Marc Cucurella furiously storming over to the sidelines to change his footwear, having slipped in the build-up to the goal.
Nevertheless, after that, it was more or less one-way traffic and, despite the fact Chelsea still trailed by the hour mark, their victory had a sense of inevitability about it and, by the end, appeared to have never been in doubt.
So, despite Maresca’s insistence that his side are not in the title race, stating that supporters “can dream” but that his players “are not ready”, the Blues currently sit second, now clear of both Arsenal and Manchester City, a mere four points adrift leaders-Liverpool, albeit having played a game more.
Chelsea's star players continue to shine
Once again, Cole Palmer was the star of the show at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, converting two second-half spot-kicks, the second of which was an audacious, impudent Panenka that capped off the comeback.
Post-game, Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports that he believes Palmer has been the best-performing player in the Premier League since the start of last season, a viewpoint that is hard to disagree with.
The 22-year-old took his tally to 11 goals for the season already at the weekend, netting in three successive Premier League matches for the first time since 4th April.
However, in the build-up to the Tottenham game, Maresca claimed Chelsea have now shaken off their ‘Cole Palmer FC’ tag, saying “we cannot rely on Cole for every game”, and praising other players for having come to the fore.
Not so long ago, Enzo Fernández had lost his place in Chelsea’s first-choice starting XI, left on the bench for four successive huge matches against Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal, with Moisés Caicedo alongside Roméo Lavia seemingly set to be the pairing going forward.
However, since then, the Argentine has proved why the Blues paid £107m to sign him in the first place, scoring three goals and registering three assists across the last three Premier League fixtures, having more touches (75) than anyone else and completing the second-most passes (49) of any player at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday; statistics courtesy of Sofascore.
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However, there was one more standout player in north London…
Chelsea's new Eden Hazard
When Todd Boehly signed Jadon Sancho from Manchester United on deadline day, initially on loan with an obligation to buy of around £25m, many Chelsea supporters were pondering why the club felt the need to acquire yet another wide-attacker, as outlined by a BBC Sport article.
Three months on, Sancho is being described by Will Castle of the Independent as ‘one of the signings of the season’ and that £25m could prove to be a bargain.
Ever since his debut at Bournemouth, in which he provided a last-gasp, game-winning assist for Christopher Nkunku, Sancho has been part of Maresca’s A-team when available, underlined by the fact he’s made just a solitary Conference League appearance to date, starting six Premier League fixtures in contrast, bagging his first goal for the Blues during the demolition of Southampton last Wednesday.
Sancho’s display at Spurs on Sunday led to boss Maresca describing him as a “special player”, with his stunning strike, cutting in from the left before lashing home, reminiscent of a certain Chelsea great from the not-too-distant past.
Eden Hazard loved a goal against Tottenham, bagging six in his career, and there were certainly some Hazard-esque esthetics about Sancho’s display at Spurs, but do the numbers back up the stylistic similarities?
Appearances
8
176
Goals *
0.23
0.40
Assists *
0.68
0.23
Average shot distance (yards)
14
17.8
Shot-creating actions *
4.05
7.17
Touches *
49.55
26.31
Take-ons attempted *
5.68
2.62
Successful take-ons
56%
74.8%
Progressive carries *
5.23
3.09
First and foremost, it must be stated that Sancho’s eight Premier League appearances for Chelsea offers a small sample size, but there are certainly some similarities to Hazard with both boasting a high volume of carries, in particular.
The Englishman is having more touches, attempting more dribbles and registering more progressive carries, defined by Opta as when a player carries the ball five yards or more towards goal in the opposition’s half.
Hazard, however, scored more goals, successfully completed a higher proportion of dribbles and accumulated more shot-creating actions, showing Sancho still has some way to go to match Chelsea’s best-ever winger.
Speaking after the weekend win, Sancho said “I’ve been working very hard….I know that I have a lot of people to prove wrong” and the way he’s playing at the minute, he may well achieve this.
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