Chelsea are playing their best football of the season right now – perhaps their best football of the decade – and it’s creating a virtuous circle at the club.
Players who are in the team play well because they’re slotting into a well-oiled machine, where everyone knows their role and executes it to perfection.
That means that anyone not picked in the first team knows they have their work cut out to get into the side and stay there.
There are options in every position, and in most cases there are multiple players in good form in every position. Whether picked to start, coming on as a sub or playing in a rotated team in the cup, every last member of Thomas Tuchel’s squad knows they have to exert themselves to the maximum if they want minutes.
It’s creating an incredible environment, where good performances are being met with raised standards, not complacency.
