Chelsea must stop pretending that they are not in the title race

Chelsea has surprised most football fans with their form in the Premier League this season and the Blues are clearly one of the teams who could be crowned champions.

It is remarkable to say that because last season, they did not look stable enough when Mauricio Pochettino was their manager.

By the end of that campaign, the Argentinian boss had helped them to qualify for the Europa Conference League, a good end to a chaotic season.

Poch had to deal with so much, including having a bloated squad yet being denied the chance to sign the players he thought his team needed.

These did not put him in a position to have a good season, but he did regardless, and most fans would argue that he should have stayed on as their manager.

However, the club’s current owners, Blue Co. have been notorious for changing managers at will, so it was not a big surprise that they sacked him.

The Blues chose an inexperienced Enzo Maresca to become their next manager after he led Leicester City to achieve success in the Championship last term.

It was the Italian’s first season as a senior manager, and he did well, making Chelsea gamble on his lack of experience to lead their team next.

Blues supporters did not know what to make of that decision at first, but they no longer had Roman Abramovich as their owner, so they had to support the decision of the new men in charge.

Maresca faced an uphill task in making supporters continue to buy Chelsea tickets, which requires the team to perform well.

They lacked identity for some time as they swapped managers repeatedly, and Maresca had to bring some personality into the team to find some balance and impress their fans.

The Italian seemed to have done that in a short while, and most of his bold decisions paid off, leading to Chelsea moving to second place in the Premier League table.

Enzo Maresca's winning experience

Many of us have played down Maresca’s successful spell in the Championship last season with Leicester City, which contributed to the doubts about how much success he can achieve at Chelsea.

Over the last few terms, teams that have been promoted to the English top flight have been relegated immediately.

This shows there is a gap in quality between both levels, so we thought Maresca could not do well in the top flight by relying on his experience in the Championship.

That assessment remains valid because several managers have made that jump and failed, but the Italian is an outlier.

He may have found a formula to win in the Championship alone, but that shows he knows how to find success in a new environment.

Prior to managing the Foxes, he did not have experience at any level of English football, but he went there and created success.

It is easy to play down his experience in the second tier, but that is helping him close in on topping the Premier League table.

Maresca has the capacity to make bold decisions, which he did in the summer by offloading some of the club’s favourites.

This gave him room to improve several of the players he kept in West London, and this type of leadership lead to success most of the time.

The decisions that put Chelsea in the title race

Chelsea stylishly snicked into the title race when the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City thought it was three of them who would challenge for the crown.

Most football fans were surprised when the Blues secured the second spot in the standings, but some still do not believe they are genuine title contenders.

It is easy to credit the form of Arsenal and Manchester City for the rise of Chelsea in the Premier League this season; however, that would downplay the efforts they have put into achieving success. What are the decisions the Blues made to put themselves in the title race?

Not relying on Cole Palmer

Last season, Chelsea relied so much on Cole Palmer, which made him an overnight sensation, and the former Manchester City man singlehandedly led them to qualification for a European place.

However, this season, Maresca made a conscious effort not to rely too much on the attacker, so Chelsea had to develop a team plan.

They now play games as a team, and more players score goals instead of relying on Palmer to find the back of the net all the time.

Developing a working system

Maresca is one of the smartest managers in the Premier League, and one good decision that makes him a hero is to settle for a system fast.

Chelsea had an identity crisis when he arrived on the scene, but the Italian quickly found an identity for them and the Blues now play a certain way with more confidence.

They have stuck to a working system, and their players are now much better at it, so they can easily challenge for the Premier League title.

Finding a stable team for the Premier League

Chelsea had an unbelievably large number of players on their roster when Maresca arrived in West London in the summer.

Their previous coaches have struggled to find the right team with so many options available to them and that was their pitfall.

However, when Maresca arrived on the scene, he quickly made some stars surplus to requirements and divided the remaining players into two groups.

One group plays in Europe, while the other competes in the Premier League, and this was the best solution.

Today, they have a stable team that has built chemistry, which helps the team win one game at a time.

Keeping only players who are hungry for success.

One key thing to note about the players whom Maresca has chosen to rely on is that each of them is hungry for success.

The Blues had so many players who won the Champions League and others who have achieved much in their career like Raheem Sterling.

Maresca knew motivating them to play well would be hard because they have already enjoyed success, so he discarded them.

The Italian kept back mostly young players who are still looking to build an important career for themselves.

Conclusion

Maresca and his Chelsea players have played mind games in the last few weeks by claiming they are not in the title race.

However, their opponents must now consider them one of the favourites to be English champions because they have done well in that regard.