After an early scare, it was business as usual for Chelsea, with a 4-1 win giving the Blues a perfect return of five wins from five. And speaking of fives, that is exactly how many talking points emerged from a five-star performance from the five-time Premier League winners.
All signs point to title tilt.
Five from five has been a precedent to a Chelsea title win on two occasions before now. It was first achieved in 2005/06, which heralded Chelsea’s effortless defence of the club’s first PL title. Four years later, the club began the 2009/10 season with five straight league wins, though Carlo Ancelotti’s men only clinched the title on the final day. While Chelsea still remain third-favourites to lift the title on www.SportingIndex.com, the similarities between Sarri’s start as the Blues’ manager and those illustrious campaigns are too big to ignore
Such was the ruthless way Chelsea fought back from 1-0 down, there is now every reason to believe that the Blues are in this fight all the way. Though Cardiff are known as one of the most defence-minded outfits in the league, the Bluebirds – though well-organised in the earlier reaches of the game – were ultimately no match for Maurizio Sarri’s men.
Hazard is thriving in the new system
The Hazard love-in continues, as the Belgian continues to utilise his momentum from a successful World Cup with great power and efficiency. Set piece mastery, great distribution and deadly execution make the perfect all-rounder, but they are nothing without the right system. These days Hazard thrives in the wide-left role, drifting in effortlessly, and defying those that doubted him last term.
This time last year, Hazard’s natural ball skills were being sorely mitigated by Antonio Conte’s convoluted 3-5-2 system, in which Hazard found himself with only Alvaro Morata in front of him in a one-dimensional attack. Morata himself continues to blow hot and cold, and he was utterly eclipsed by the brilliance of Hazard against Cardiff, with the Belgian also being given greater licence to roam by the pass mastery of Jorginho.
Jorginho the ‘Mr Consistent’ Chelsea need
The Italian midfielder and Hazard were just made to play together. While having a distributor from the middle of the park is a vital component of every team, Jorginho’s pass completion rate of over 90% is one of the best in Europe’s five richest leagues. Indeed, only Tony Kroos was anywhere near Jorginho’s rate prior to the September international break.
Already a record-breaking passer, Jorginho’s ability to dictate the pattern of play will be especially vital when the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City come calling, with both of those sides preferring to play at a quicker tempo, with the managers of both clubs knowing that the increased margin of error is reduced by raw skill.
Defence can negotiate title six-pointers
Liverpool were, of course, the only other team still with a 100% league record by the end of Premier League game week five. While David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger looked like strangers in a central partnership, it did not take long at all for the twosome to bring a more structured approach to defence. Having two ball-playing defenders against teams that (like Cardiff) are determined to smash and grab is a real asset.
The high defensive line also unsettles inferior opposition, and while the likes of fellow title contenders Liverpool may be shrewd enough to challenge such a system, the physicality necessary to justify a high defensive line is very much there. In addition, Cesar Azpilicueta finally looks like the player he could be, out on the right flank. Thus, with a harmonious defence, Marcos Alonso is able to maraud with the same frequency that proved vital to Chelsea’s dominant 2016/17 season.
Age is just a number
Sarri’s penchant for having one striker in the centre, as a goal poacher and visionary, initially appeared to be bad news for Olivier Giroud. While he is the younger and more mobile of Chelsea’s two main strikers, Alvaro Morata remains dogged by the inconsistencies that held him back in 2017/18. Again, Conte’s system was decidedly less suited to Morata’s playing style – as it was for many others – but at Chelsea, only those who take their chances can thrive and survive.
That is exactly what Giroud did, and without the Frenchman’s superior distribution, Hazard would have been barely half the player he was against Cardiff. While Giroud is a traditional ‘target man’, he gives Chelsea a degree of unpredictability Morata presently cannot. There was something more intuitive here, and there is undoubtedly the potential for role reversal between Hazard and Giroud that – in the hands of Sarri – could be utterly deadly.