Why Chelsea are not in the title race with Arsenal and Manchester City despite strong start to the season

After seven games last season, Chelsea were 10th. After the same number of games this time out, they are fourth in the league table, having shown tremendous improvement. To illustrate that they are going places, they went to Bournemouth and won when they could only manage a draw on the south coast under Mauricio Pochettino.

Then they went to West Ham and gave them a clinic on how to play football; the previous season, they lost 3-1 there. They are undefeated since the first day of the season when they lost 2-0 to champions Manchester City.

There is also visible evidence that individual players are improving. There were questions about whether Cole Palmer could continue being the standout player, and he’s answered that affirmatively. There was also a question about whether Nicolas Jackson could continue to improve, and he has answered that with four goals already this season. We are seeing improvement in the likes of Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto, who has really taken his game to the next level.

But are they in the title race? The answer is simply no. Even manager Maresca admitted there are a couple of teams operating at a level way higher than theirs. He said: “I really don’t think we can compete with City or Arsenal. I really don’t think that because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.”

Transition Periods

Chelsea’s strong start has led people to overlook that they are undergoing a transition period. They are playing under a new manager for the first time, and they have a galaxy of players who have come in and will need time to adjust.

The strong start has led everyone to expect them to challenge the likes of Manchester City, who have had Pep Guardiola for a decade, and Mikel Arteta, who has been at Arsenal for five years now. Continuity is a massive part of building a side that can achieve great things. Chelsea will need that, not just based on how they have performed in the first seven games of the season.

Inconsistent Home Form

Any team that hopes to be in the title race must have a strong home record. Chelsea have only won one of their four home games and have dropped points to teams like Crystal Palace, who are yet to win a game this season, and Nottingham Forest.

The Forest game highlighted why Chelsea still need development to be considered title challengers, as they struggled to handle a team that was a man down and had 10 players behind the ball. For the teams they are competing against, they barely drop points, and Chelsea needs to reach that level where they are consistently winning and piling up points.

There are signs that they are definitely going places, even though it’s still early days. They will need to mature if they are to reach the level they aspire to.