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On July 14 2018, Chelsea announced that Maurizio Sarri will be appointed as the club's manager, replacing Antonio Conte. With him came one of the best passers of the game, Jorginho from Sarri’s former club Napoli and Chelsea’s fortunes have changed ever since.
Manchester City romped to the title last season, securing a century of points and breaking many records on the way. But Guardiola needed time and money to make City play as he wanted and when the time came, every player delivered. However, Maurizio Sarri has taken no time at all to pour his managerial philosophies onto the English turf and Chelsea have been playing some excellent football ever since.
Sarri brought with him the ‘’Sarriball’’ which basically means a quick possession-based style of play. He had the likes of Dries Mertens, Jose Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne, Jorginho and Allan who benefited from this style of play and Napoli went toe to toe with Juventus for the Seria A title, eventually finishing second with a record number of points in their history.
But with Chelsea, Sarri could win his first league title as this Chelsea side is stacked with talent that fits his system perfectly. Summer signing Jorginho and Real Madrid loanee Kovacic alongside the machine that is Kante have formed probably the best midfield trio in the league already.
Marcos Alonso still bombs up and down the pitch but with Sarri able to get the best out of the somewhat clumsy Rudiger, he has strengthened the Blues defensively as well.
Kepa’s arrival from Athletic Club Bilbao for a record signing raised a lot of eyebrows but the Spaniard stepped up in the previous couple of games and looks like he could be in between the sticks for over a decade at the club.
Put all this together and you have the perfect recipe to lift the Premier League title.
It’s still early stages of the season and claiming a certain side will win the whole league is a bit absurd but the level of football Chelsea are showcasing at the moment is surely a warning to the whole league.
Liverpool have never looked this strong in the Premier League era and are serious contenders for the title. There will be few doubting the ability of Pep Guardiola to retain the title with such an experienced and star-studded team.
However, with Liverpool wanting to win the Champions League this term after missing out on the trophy last season and Manchester City also gunning for the elusive Champions League title, Chelsea could exploit their rivals’ European ambitions and clinch the top spot in the Premier League.
Yes, Chelsea have Europa League to compete in too but with their squad depth and a plethora of exciting youth players searching for first-team minutes, they could start a second-string team and still reach at least the quarters of the tournament.
To wrap it up, Chelsea, under an attack-minded manager and a hungry and skilled set of players, will give every other Premier League title contender a run for their money and could, in the end, finish as the champions of England.
