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New signings or not, Chelsea have shown today that they have it in them to challenge for the title again. Antonio Conte's men showed why they are the champions by out classing Everton in all departments.
Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas scored the goals as Chelsea eased their way to a 2-0 win. Thibaut Courtois had literally nothing to do with just one save in the entire match.
Here are the talking points:
#5 - Alvaro Morata has adapted well, but can still improve
When Chelsea signed Morata for a club-record fee, everyone wondered how he'll adapt to Conte's system. The manager was keen on signing him but the fans and board were not so sure about him.
Morata started off his Chelsea career with a penalty miss but since then, he's been tremendous on the pitch for Chelsea. 2 goals and 2 assists at Stamford Bridge so far and he's just getting started!
With that said, Morata still needs to get a little more physical with the defenders. He's pulling out of challenges and is going down a bit too easily on few occasions. He's not dramatic like Diego Costa but if he works on his physical ability, there is nothing that can stop him from scoring dozens of goals at Chelsea.
#4 - Sandro and Rooney cannot play together
Can Sandro Ramirez and Wayne Rooney play together? Maybe when Everton play two up-front, not when it's a 3-4-3 formation.
Ramirez was invisible for the whole game and was offering very little to the attack. While Rooney and Sigurðsson were trying to make progress into the Chelsea box, Ramirez was not keeping any of the Chelsea defenders busy.
Thus, the likes of David Luiz, Rudiger and Azpilicueta were having a field day. Thibaut Courtois had literally nothing to do the entire game.
Ronaldo Koeman needs to stick Rooney up front or play both on top with Tom Davis and Sigurðsson playing on the wings. Everton don't have it in them to play 3-4-3 at the moment. 4-4-2 would be the best formation right now.
#3 - Cesc Fabregas grabs his opportunity with both hands
Bakayoko who? Cesc Fabregas showed exactly why he should be starting alongside N'Golo Kante in every single match this season.
The signing of Bakayoko from AS Monaco put more pressure on Fabregas to perform in training and impress Antonio Conte. And, it looks like he did exactly that!
Conte picked Fabregas over Bakayoko against Everton and the Spaniard put in a Man of the Match performance. Dominated the midfield and was finding his teammates with long and short passes with an effort.
With the International break coming up and Spain not calling Fabregas, he has enough time to get to Cobham and impress Conte even more.
#2 - Traveling issues for Everton
Monday night in Manchester, Thursday night in Croatia and then Sunday afternoon in London. Everton have been on the road for a long time in the last 7 days.
Playing 3 matches in 7 days itself is a tiring thing and to travel up and down the country and also abroad made it worse for Everton. The players were visibly tired and were not able to match the energy of the Chelsea players.
N'Golo Kante is already a stream engine but with Everton players not able to catch up to him, he looked more like a bullet train. The only positive for the Toffees from the game is that despite all this, they managed to keep the score respectable.
#1 - Antonio Conte is a fighter
While the fact remains that Antonio Conte is not being backed by the Chelsea board in the transfer market, he has not given up or stopped doing his work. He walked away from Juventus because the board did not get the players he wanted but it looks like that is not the case at Chelsea.
He has been highly active on the touchline, just like last season, and is guiding the players even when they are on the ball. While managers like Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino are sitting in the dugout and watching their players, Conte is on the touchline telling his players what to do.
Should he get the players he wants by the end of this transfer window, there is no reason why Chelsea cannot challenge for the title again!
