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The 0-0 Draw at Stamford Bridge against Everton meant Chelsea remain the only unbeaten team in Europe's top 5 leagues across all competitions. However, despite not having a loss to their name, Chelsea dropped to third place in the Premier League table. The Blues are now four points behind leaders Manchester City. While, still in touching distance, it is starting to look like that winning the title this season will be a far-fetched dream at Stamford Bridge.
While Chelsea has built a reputation for sacking manager at a quick rate, the club has also had a unique way to the top. All three of Chelsea's title-winning manager's, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Antonio Conte won the league in their first season a the club. The Stamford Bridge faithful have got used to instant success under new coaches. However, it looks unlikely that Maurizio Sarri will succeed in making the same happen.
Despite their unbeaten start to the season, cracks are starting to appear in the Chelsea. The Blues have already had four draws this season. While Tottenham Hotspur has lost three games, they are only one point behind Chelsea. While Chelsea are not losing games, they are still losing points. Sarri's men have worryingly dropped six points in their last four home games.
However, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. If anything about Chelsea's season was shocking, it was how well they started. The Blues started the season quite convincingly with five wins in a row in the Premier League. For a team coming off a terrible season and under a new manager, very few would have expected Chelsea to start this way.
Fans must also not forget how troubled Chelsea's preseason was. It took the club almost an eternity to confirm the appointment of Maurizio Sarri which meant the Italian arrived at the club a week after players returned from their holidays.
Further, the former Napoli coach only got less than a week before the first league game of the season with star players like Eden Hazard and Ngolo Kante due to the World Cup. With a dramatic change in style from Antonio Conte, Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season is quite astonishing.
The incredible strength of Manchester City slightly dilutes Chelsea's incredible start to the season. Pep Guardiola's side who finished with a record-breaking 100 points last season has started the current campaign from exactly where they left last year. So far, the Citizens have dropped only four points in the Premier League.
The defending Champions have won 10 out of their 12 league games so far. It is a tide which shows no sign of stopping and is clearly head and shoulders of their competition and arguably the greatest ever in the league's history. With the same points, Chelsea would have been top of the table at this stage two season's ago. With a dramatic change in style and culture underway, it is clear to see that the Blues are heading in the right direction under Maurizio Sarri.
However, the cracks have started to appear in the team over the last few matches. Over the last couple of weeks, Chelsea's performance levels have worsened. Since the last International break, the team's progress has visibly stagnated. While the results are still coming as the Everton match showed, an unfavorable scoreline is not far away.
With the team yet to reach perfection, it is clear to see that teams are figuring out ways weaknesses in the Chelsea side like marking Jorginho out of the game. One can expect with time more teams to find an antidote to stop Sarri's Chelsea. It will hardly surprise people if things get worse for the blues and few bad results follow in the near future.
While Chelsea is known for immediate glory, the downfall has also been as quick in the past few years too. After both their previous two titles winning season's, Chelsea did not even finish in the top four in the following season. While a series of factors contributed to it, the biggest reason was that of an unstable structure in place.
Under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea is building a style which is sustainable in a long run. If there is one downside to it, it is that it takes longer to learn and implement. Even more so at a team like Chelsea, which has played pragmatic football for the last few years.
Maurizio Sarri's style is said to be extremely similar to Pep Guardiola's. At the moment, the whole footballing world is in awe of how good Manchester City are. It will only be wise to remember Guardiola's first season in England. That season City's qualification for next season's Champions League was in doubt till the last day.
Not to forget there were humiliating defeats to the likes of Leicester and Everton. That year also saw City lose both games to Chelsea, failing to beat Liverpool and Tottenham in either game and a defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup Semi-final. However, the club believed in the process and that is what Chelsea needs to do too.
As City showed, it is not just coaching and tactics that will do the job for Chelsea. The club needs to invest to improve the squad and move on players that are not fit for the job. There are plenty of players who are not good enough to take the Blues to the next level and Chelsea needs to find upgrades for them if they wish to move on the next level. While the current squad is still a very good one, a few more signings could make a huge difference.
For now, the fans and the club need to show patience. There are bound to some poor performances and probably unpleasant results. It is important for everyone around Stamford Bridge to believe in the project. Under Maruzio Sarri, Chelsea is already playing a brand of football which is much more pleasing to the eye than previous years.
The former Napoli coach is also getting the best out of talisman Eden Hazard. Quite clearly, its far from perfect but that was never going to happen overnight. Ultimately as the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day and Chelsea are not going to become the team they aspire to without some struggle. This season could turn out to a very similar one to Jose Mourinho's first season at the club in his second stint.
Even if things go slightly south in the upcoming months, it is important to for both Chelsea fans and the board to not panic. As Manchester City have shown under Pep Guardiola, sticking with this philosophy will be extremely rewarding. Not only is it a style which is more successful for a longer period but one that the world enjoys watching.
One only has to look at how Sarri's Napoli side's point tally increased every season. It is highly unlikely that the Italian coach will be at Stamford Bridge for a long time however he could set a foundation that outlasts him and serves the club for years.
For that to happen, it is also important for Sarri to be proactive. He should learn from his own mistakes and that of previous coaches at Chelsea. Also, the most important part will be to not show too much trust in players who are not of the desired quality. After that, if he is given the right backing, there is no reason why Chelsea cannot be serious challengers for the Premier League and Champions League trophies.
