Three wins from three for Chelsea. They knocked newly-promoted Burnley out of the park at Stamford Bridge, maintaining their perfect start in the Premier League under the tutelage of Antonio Conte to move to the summit of the table on alphabetical order.
Granted, the opposition Chelsea have faced so far have been below-par. West Ham United barely posed a threat in the opening game of the Conte era. Watford were at an acceptable standard at Vicarage Road last Saturday but failed to create many openings. Burnley mustered six shots on goal and zero on target to Chelsea’s twenty-two as the Clarets’ primary focus after Eden Hazard made it 1-0 was to defend in two banks of four and avoid this from becoming a complete embarrassment.
Tougher challenges lie ahead for Chelsea. They travel to Swansea after the international break, preceding tough games against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and a London derby at Arsenal. Then it’s Hull, Leicester and Manchester United in succession. Burnley were hideously bad but the Blues are entitled to feel more than satisfied with their first clean sheet at the Bridge since November 2015 and the slick, fluid, proactive football on display for the entirety of the brutally one-sided 3-0 victory.
“I’m pleased with the performance and the win, we played well with good possession and created many chances,” Conte said afterwards. A 3-0 scoreline was fantastic—Chelsea’s first 3-0 since January against Crystal Palace, incidentally—but you cannot help but feel it should have been more on the day.
They pummeled their opponents in the opening half. Burnley did start well. They then conceded possession in midfield and they paid the price, as Eden Hazard charged forward with the ball at blistering speed. Diego Costa’s intelligent diagonal run opened the space for the diminutive Belgian to move into and curl the ball into the corner past a hapless Tom Heaton in goal. Minutes later, Hazard nearly doubled Chelsea’s lead but Ben Mee cleared it off the line to ensure he did not get his third Premier League goal of the season.
Hazard was Chelsea’s best performer, and that was no easy feat given the abundance of sparkling individual displays. N’Golo Kanté looks every bit like the Leicester star of last season, anchoring exceptionally as the engine of this side, and even chipped in with the occasional offensive contribution on Saturday. Oscar and Nemanja Matić were both almost just as good as their midfield counterpart, Branislav Ivanović and Cesar Azpilicueta were sound both defensively and offensively, and although Diego Costa had plenty of misfortune in front of goal, there were plenty of signs that indicated he is getting back to his brilliant best.
“Chelsea had far too much for us today,” Sean Dyche admitted to Sky Sports after the game, imaginably somewhat reluctantly, especially after his comments about Antonio Conte a couple of weeks prior to this contest in West London. “There is a massive gulf from where we are as a club and where Chelsea are as a club both on and off the pitch, and that was on show today.”
Chelsea were creating chances for fun in the second half, only to be continuously denied by shot-stopper Tom Heaton, who emerged from Stamford Bridge as the only Burnley player with some actual dignity. The portfolio of great saves included a brilliant stop from Hazard’s low-driven shot, which materialized from an intelligent corner routine, but undoubtedly the pick of the bunch was magnificently keeping out César Azpilicueta’s shot at his near post in the dying embers of Conte’s third win in English football.
Willian then made it 2-0 just before the interval, a goal of high quality, firing a low shot under Steven Ward’s legs and into the net. Conte was elated as per, exulted like a lunatic, embracing his coaching staff with hugs. He was soon denied another one of those passionate moments of his, with Terry blasting Heaton’s parried shot from Hazard’s volley over the bar on 59 minutes.
Willian was taken off for Victor Moses as the fans appreciated his effort on the day with some great cheers, but then Pedro replaced Eden Hazard, and the Belgian international received an even bigger ovation from the crowd. It would be Moses and Pedro who contributed to Chelsea’s third goal, with Oscar retaining the ball in midfield and finding the Spaniard, who delivered a low ball into the box to an outstretched Moses, finishing clinically and scoring his first Premier League goal for the club since November 2012.
It was the best showing of Conte’s reign so far. All without Cesc Fábregas, who changed the complexion of the game at Watford last week after coming off the bench, but it was obviously not enough to convince the Italian to include him in the starting XI.
Chelsea are still in transition. The 100% record is an ideal start, but there are some players who are still adjusting to Conte’s methods and, Conte himself, is still adjusting to life in England.
The notion of the Blues as title contenders are not outlandish at all, but not as plausible as some people are suggesting. The opponents in their first three Premier League games have not been good at all, with West Ham poor on that Monday night, Burnley at the level of a Championship side and Watford proving how average they really are after a 3-1 loss at home to struggling Arsenal. Plus, a look at the current squad indicates just how far behind Chelsea really are in comparison to both Manchester giants.
There is still time to add to it, but finally deciding to do it 72 hours before the window shuts is unwise, with many clubs understandably reluctant to sell their key players.
All in all, though, this was a brilliant performance from Chelsea, their best attacking display in the Premier League since the 5-0 demolition of Swansea in Wales back in January 2015.
There are still stars in this side who can make them contenders. Eden Hazard is rejuvenated under Conte. If Thibaut Courtois can get back to his very best, then we have a special goalkeeper guarding the net. Cesc Fábregas’s quality is unquestioned. N’Golo Kanté has already proved to be an incredible acquisition. Diego Costa is hungry once again, and Michy Batshuayi is a good talent. Antonio Conte gives me special vibes of Carlo Ancelotti.
Then, looking at the bigger picture—there’s still *that* defence, a lack of depth, and plenty of deadwood still there to be axed. Maybe it’s too early to judge. But bringing everything into account, we’re not title contenders yet. If the board would have fulfilled Conte’s wishes earlier in the transfer market, it’d be a completely different story.
