Chelsea qualified for the Champions League, won the Conference League and became Club World Cup champions in Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge.
Can they now launch a Premier League title challenge?
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson reckons Maresca’s young squad won’t have the consistency.
“It was an amazing achievement for Chelsea to win the Club World Cup. I didn’t see it happening. They were outstanding in that final against Paris Saint-Germain,” he said.
“It’s silverware, which you cannot turn your nose up at, plus there are financial benefits which have helped in the transfer market. However, you can’t get carried away.
“Winning the Premier League is a totally different ball game to winning the Club World Cup. It will be difficult for Chelsea to challenge for the Premier League title this season.
“Winning that summer tournament doesn’t particularly change anything for me. You need unreal consistency to go all the way in the league and with Chelsea’s young squad, I don’t see them having that this year. There are no easy games in the Premier League and you have to bring your best week in, week out.
“Champions League qualification again, and potentially another cup win, has to be the target.”
But there are reasons to be hopeful…
Maresca-ball has landed after awkward start
Chelsea fans turned against Maresca at half-time of their fixture at Fulham in April.
Having won only once in their previous four games, their Champions League hopes were fading until Tyrique George and Pedro Neto produced a dramatic late turnaround. It proved to be the turning point of their season.
Chelsea won 13 of their final 15 matches with Maresca tweaking his system and also experimenting at the Club World Cup by using every outfield player.
Reece James has played alongside Moises Caicedo in midfield, allowing Enzo Fernandez to thrive further forward.
Full-backs Marc Cucurella and Malo Gusto stayed wide at the Club World Cup rather than coming into the middle and Cole Palmer shone playing on the right wing rather than behind the striker.
It was also noticeable how often Chelsea played longer against PSG, bypassing their trademark press, and using their pace and power to get up the pitch.
Maresca’s possession style has turned exciting.
Pedro and Delap guarantee goals
Joao Pedro scored twice on his first start for Chelsea
Chelsea came unstuck when Nicolas Jackson injured his hamstring midway through last season. Christopher Nkunku was unable to fill the void and winger Pedro Neto had to play as a striker. Palmer’s drastic drop in form coincided with their sticky run too.
They won’t have the same forward issues next season. The additions of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap have shown a statement of intent that the club wants to compete on all fronts.
The trio scored 32 goals between them in the Premier League last season. The bigger issue will be keeping them both happy with regular playing time.
Sanchez showing his best form
Robert Sanchez was jeered by Chelsea fans at times last season when he had the ball at his feet. His five errors leading to goals, the joint-most in the Premier League, didn’t cost Chelsea a Champions League spot but left most thinking he needed to be replaced.
“I can’t see someone winning the Premier League with that goalkeeper and without a standout centre-back,” said Jamie Carragher in December. He followed it up a month later by saying Sanchez is a goalkeeper for a “bottom-half” club.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with the Club World Cup Golden Glove award
Chelsea walked away from signing AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the Club World Cup, which appeared to lift Sanchez ahead of the tournament.
The 27-year-old kept four clean sheets, shining in the final with six saves to earn the Golden Glove and his accurate long kicking troubled PSG on the counter-attack. This could be a turning point in his Chelsea career, but Merson isn’t so sure.
“He’s a great shot stopper. It’s very rare you talk about him letting one through him,” said Merson. “He’s superb at that aspect of the game, it’s just his decision-making that lets him down sometimes.
“That will be the problem over the course of the season.”
‘Billion-pound bottle jobs’ showing resolve
Todd Boehly now has something to show for his £1.5bn spending at Chelsea.
A Champions League place, a Conference League trophy and a Club World Cup triumph have laid Gary Neville’s iconic line to rest.
Chelsea are looking the real deal with a young squad that has quickly inherited the club’s trophy-winning mentality.
The estimated £111m in Club World Cup prize money will help to balance the books too.
More work is needed in the transfer window with Merson reckoning an experienced centre-back is a priority.
“They need that experience to go with the good options they have,” said Merson. “It’s not a lot that Chelsea really needs, but that there is the most important parts in a football team, especially when you are talking about winning leagues.”
Fast start possible but CWC hangover?
The fixture computer has handed Chelsea a favourable start to the season, beginning at home to Crystal Palace on August 17, live on Sky Sports.
West Ham, Fulham and Brentford follow before they head out of London for the first time when they visit Manchester United.
Chelsea also have the second-best set of fixtures following mid-week European matches of the nine Premier League sides involved.
They’ll play away from home just twice, against Manchester United and Crystal Palace, travelling only 341 miles after playing in the Champions League.
But how will they recover from a 64-game season that finally ended in July? They impressed in their two pre-season games, beating Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan, but will just three weeks of training be enough?
Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from next season
215 live premier league matches up from 128 this season on Sky Sports
From this season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season are on Sky Sports.
