Thirty-four shots taken, 17 on target; 23 shots faced, 15 on target. Eight goals scored, five goals conceded. These are incredible statistics that show a wildly attacking team with lots of defensive frailties. But when one puts in consideration the fact that the two opponents faced were top of the table before their games, one has to give Chelsea some form of credibility.
Only the most optimistic of individuals would've expected Chelsea to pick a point out of their last two games, not to talk of four. I didn't watch the Spurs game that was dubbed a Premier League classic, but I did watch every second of their game against City. And, believe me, I was shocked, surprised and excited at the same time.
Their boldness shocked me. And, considering how they've wobbled in recent games against lesser oppositions, their willingness to fight back on three occasions surprised me. What excited me, as a neutral spectator, was how they poured forward to test City's resolve. It's not everyday you come across teams that attempt more shots against Guardiola's guys, let alone a seemingly struggling one.
So, are Chelsea really back on track? With the last few days they've had, have they turned a corner?
One crazy thing about elite level football is how quickly tables can turn. About two weeks ago alarm bells were ringing after their uninspiring home loss to Brentford. Now they're earning rave reviews for their displays in the last two games. And, in all honesty, it will be criminal not to commend them for their approach against Man City.
However, in the last two games they played against very attacking teams who left a lot of space behind to run to. To ascertain that, a misfiring Nicholas Jackson scored a hat-trick against an insanely attacking, nine-man Spurs. Raheem Sterling played like a man on steroids against Walker. These are guys that thrive on spaces left behind to devastating effects on the opposition.
Against Liverpool and Arsenal, Chelsea played well too because both teams preferred to play on the front foot instead of relinquishing possession. In fact, of the four EPL games Chelsea have lost so far it was only against Aston Villa they had less than 60% (53%) of the possession - probably because Chelsea were a man down for most of the second half. The remaining three - against West Ham, Nottm. Forest and Brentford - they averaged 74% possession, had a whooping 55 shots on goal with just eight of those on target. They scored just one goal in those three games.
In contrast, in the four games they played against Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and City, Chelsea also attempted 55 shots, with 26 shots on target leading to 11 goals. With this, Chelsea clearly struggles to create against low block teams and are incredibly dangerous against the very attacking ones. Unfortunately, they won't play highly attacking teams every week.
Conclusively, Chelsea have done well to pick themselves up after the loss to Brentford. Are they gradually getting back to the defiant, gritty Chelsea of old? It's way too early to call. By the way, they're occupying the 10th position as we speak. And that's enough to prove that all is not well with them. However, in Pochettino they have a proven manager who can restore the glory days. Well, they can dream for a while during this international break. They've earned it!
