Chelsea bask in their new status as the Premier League’s great entertainers
Are Chelsea the most entertaining team in the Premier League to watch these days?
It is a debate where there is not going to be a universally accepted winner. Supporters of rival clubs are inevitably going to make arguments for why their team is the one to watch, and understandably so. The manner in which Liverpool have taken early control of the title race will have their followers championing their cause, especially with Mohamed Salah in the form he is in right now.
But Chelsea have to be part of the conversation at the very least. Few matches ever seem to be straightforward when they are involved, for better or for worse. The 5-1 victory against Southampton was the latest example. They had 26 shots in all and struck the woodwork three times, but their defending was unconvincing even against 10 men.
Lost amid the banter over their 8-0 victory over FC Noah in the UEFA Conference League last month was the fact that the Armenian club still had 15 efforts on Chelsea's goal. No matter how well Chelsea are playing, you are guaranteed action at both ends of the pitch.
Crucially, their consistent output in the final third is compensating for any frailties at the back and making them so watchable, flaws and all. No English club has scored more than their 57 goals in 22 matches in all competitions this season. Clearly, playing in the weakest of the three European tournaments has helped them run up that tally, but it still provides a platform for them to showcase their attacking approach.
Regardless, finding the net five times at Southampton has established them as the top scorers in the Premier League, too, after 14 fixtures.
To put the 57-goal mark in perspective, it is already seven more than Chelsea scored in whole of the 2022-23 season (50 in 50 games). Their current goals-per-game average of 2.59 is the best in a single season in their history.
The table below shows how their performance in finding the net compares with the other English clubs who have been competing on three fronts so far — the Premier League, EFL Cup and in Europe. They have built up quite a healthy lead.
Few clubs can make seven changes like head coach Enzo Maresca did at St Mary's Stadium and still field a side blessed with the attacking talent of Cole Palmer, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke , Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Fernandez. Jadon Sancho was brought off the bench with 18 minutes to go and ended up scoring his first Chelsea goal.
Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto, excellent against Aston Villa at the weekend, could put their feet up and save their legs for Tottenham on Sunday.
The Chelsea fans in the away end roared their approval. "Chelsea are back," they bellowed, the first time this writer has heard that upbeat chant since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium took over in May 2022. Maresca's name was belted out loudly, too, the first head coach hired by the current regime to be on the receiving end of such a resounding noise of approval.
It felt like a significant moment; as if all the negativity endured over the previous two years had been consigned to the past.
Inevitably, as is his custom, Maresca is not getting too carried away. "It (the songs from Chelsea fans) was a very good feeling, especially because you can see that they are happy," he said in his post-match press conference. "That is our target and why we work every day — to keep them happy. Tonight was a very good feeling, and especially the one that they can see Chelsea is back. This is the important thing.
"I think it is a good feeling not only for the owners — for sure, it is for them — but also for the players, for the club, for the fans. It is a good feeling for all of us."
Chelsea's strength in depth must make ominous reading for opposition coaches and is also a major reason why they are consistently so good in attack. They have 15 different scorers in all competitions. Their current average of 2.21 goals per Premier League game was last bettered in the 2016-17 campaign (2.24) when, under Antonio Conte, they last won the Premier League.
Just comparing a few Premier League statistics from the first two seasons of the Todd-Boehly-Clearlake era emphasises the progress they are making under Maresca as an attacking force. As you can see below, Maresca's side are on course to be on top in every metric measured here:
Then there is the reality that Chelsea have scored five goals or more in two away Premier League games this season (6-2 vs Wolves , 5-1 vs Southampton), the first time they have done so twice in a season since 2014-15 — another title-winning campaign. Their expected goals (xG) total against Russell Martin's team was the highest on record (from 2008-09 onwards) by a team in an away Premier League game (5.29).
The tally of greatest importance for supporters centres on trophies won and final league position, and whether the team have done enough to return to the Champions League . Maresca will continue to play Chelsea's chances down to keep the pressure off his young squad, but the more goals they score, the harder it will be for them to be ignored.
At the very least, more and more neutrals will be keen to see them in action. This is a team who guarantee goals — and lavish entertainment.
(Top photo: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via )
