Word of Caution for Chelsea: The Race Has Just Begun

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Chelsea have been so successful against Arsenal in recent years that the 5-3 defeat for the blues at Stamford Bridge, during the regime of Andre Villas-Boas, does appear like a freak result. On Sunday, the blues enjoyed yet another customary win over our rivals from North London. Inevitably, there were comparisons with last seasons 6-0 thrashing of the Gunners. The only common line between this victory and the 2-0 win on Sunday is the control. Betfair offers Premier League odds of 1/2 for Chelsea to win the title.

Chelsea did not have much of the ball on Sunday, but we showed the reason for being placed as this seasons title favourites. Pep Guardiolas teams often try to have control on matches by dominating possession. Jose Mourinho showed on Sunday that teams need not dominate possession figures in order to have control on the match. Chelsea kept the ball when they needed to slow the pace of the game, but relinquished it enough to allow the opportunities on the counter-attack.

Arsene Wenger said before the match that they did not buy Cesc Fabregas because of Mesut Ozils presence. On the basis of Sunday, the Frenchman may have made a grave mistake. Ozil was largely anonymous through the 90 minutes in sharp contrast to Fabregas lively performance. It was not surprising that Fabregas turned provider once again for Diego Costas ninth goal of the season.

Costas goal was more than just ensuring three points. After having drawn a blank against Manchester City earlier this season, Costa had to score against top opposition so that he does not get classified as a flat track bully. It was a typical strikers performance from the 26-year-old; he did not do much apart from pressing the defenders until the goal that secured three points. In the past, Fernando Torres used to do everything apart from scoring but Costas goal showed the importance of a real striker.

Eden Hazard was visibly tired beyond the hour mark, but it is easy to understand Josés reluctance to take him off. It was the moment of brilliance from the Belgian international that broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. This is after Arsenal defended with numbers the back in order to avoid the mistakes of last season. Hazard skipped past two players as if they simply were not there before drawing a challenge in the penalty box. This is the kind of individual brilliance that wins matches and it did on Sunday. Hazard may have been overshadowed by Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas this season, but he once again proved his importance in the team.

The real star of the show, though, was Nemanja Matic. The £21 million paid to bring back the Serbian international looks worth every penny right now. He complements the team extremely well in defence and attack. He is a substantial upgrade over John obi Mikel, who does not offer much going forward. On Sunday, Matics reading of the game was so good that Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla were almost non-existent in attack.

Last season, Chelsea showed that the brilliance of Jose Mourinhos tactics alone would get them past top opposition. Yet, the team was simply not versatile enough to contend with the threat of teams from the lower half of the table. This season appears to be a marked improvement as victories over Leicester City and Aston Villa have been backed up by a win against Arsenal and a point at the Etihad stadium.

The blues have a five-point advantage over Manchester City. Jose Mourinho and John Terry have both been stating recently that this is definitely a good advantage to have in the run-up to the December fixtures. Traditionally, Chelsea have struggled in the months of October and November. As last seasons Premier League title race showed, an advantage at this stage of the season is almost insignificant. Even last seasons table on January 1 did not provide an accurate prediction; Arsenal were sitting comfortably on the top with a similar advantage and they just about ended the season in fourth place.

For all the successes that the blues have achieved in the last decade, Chelsea have lifted just one Premier League title since Mourinho left in 2007. We have had one of the strongest squads during this period. This clearly shows that the team has been unable to sustain a good run of form over the course of a 38-game season. It is definitely great be top of the table, but a word of caution needs to be thrown in.

Manchester City seem like the only other title contender right now, but this five-point advantage sees Betfair offering only odds of 11/4 for Pellegrinis men to be successful once again.

Chelsea fans should not take the win over Arsenal as a barometer. After all, it is just another customary win!

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[Joesepi 0]

I guys, this is my 1st comment! I think its important not to get too carried away. Yes, we have looked good so far this season. Yes, no-one looks quite as good as us so far. However, there are so many things could happen that could put a dent in our title hopes. What if Costa gets injured? And we can't forget about city - they started poorly last season but still went on to win the league.

[Joesepi 0]

[Muzchap 8,966]

Good article Choulo

[Special Juan 27,101]

Good article Choulo

He doesn't write that well

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Good article Choulo

This is actually Jim's article. I just posted it up for him and am unjust;y taking all the credit (and likes) for it

[Leif 6,006]

Caution is for pussies

[Special Juan 27,101]

Caution is for pussies

Careful you may upset Jason.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Caution is for pussies

Hmm if Loserpool had defended against us and got a point, they'd have won the league

Caution has it's place and should never be underestimated. What's the old airforce saying...

"There are bold pilots

There are old pilots

But there are no old, bold pilots"

That sums it up nicely

[AswinR 96]

This is a very good article and details a very important aspect of the league.... its a very long race and loads can happen in that time .

But have you seen the confidence in the eyes of a gold medalist olympian for example bolt!

Their eyes, body language, comments are overflowing with confidence and stiking fear in the hearts of their opponents....

Chelsea players are all top professionals and they have always showed confidence before most matches...

But chelsea fans are different this season...they have seen their team play...they have seen their manager's tactical improvements in the team....

they have seen the plight of other teams in the league.....and NOW we are CONFIDENT.... isnt that a good thing?

it doesnt necessarily mean we will win everything... but unlike last couple of years, everytime our team is on the pitch you know we are going to win and not just epected to win...

no more the underdogs of big matches...if not superior then at par with all great clubs in the world......

we have seen similar chelsea teams earlier...under the same manager

We have a World class team with the potential to win it all...... all we need to hope for is luck and gods blessing

To all Blues...lets make history again this season

[Leif 6,006]

Regarding my tongue in cheek caution comment, I feel like we're the only 'big' club in England whose fans need to put a constant wet blanket over everything.

If we're doing good, great in fact, it's always "lets keep our heads down and just kick on" (as fans i'm not sure how we do that but whatever) and i feel it totally kills the energy & hype of doing well in a season.

Man City fans just enjoy winning and let it inflate their egos until it lifts them like a hot air balloon and carries them to the trophy. They have confidence.

I feel like our fans need more confidence & articles just blowing up our ego saying "yeah, we're killing shit, enjoy it."

Let City do the worrying for once.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Regarding my tongue in cheek caution comment, I feel like we're the only 'big' club in England whose fans need to put a constant wet blanket over everything.

If we're doing good, great in fact, it's always "lets keep our heads down and just kick on" (as fans i'm not sure how we do that but whatever) and i feel it totally kills the energy & hype of doing well in a season.

Man City fans just enjoy winning and let it inflate their egos until it lifts them like a hot air balloon and carries them to the trophy. They have confidence.

I feel like our fans need more confidence & articles just blowing up our ego saying "yeah, we're killing shit, enjoy it."

Let City do the worrying for once.

I think that for us fans, a lot of that comes from the fact that for past 3-4 seasons it seems that whenever the team seems to be doing great and gets important wins we often went on to drop points against lesser sides. So, it's not "we're not great" but rather "be careful and never get complacent".

I kinda like that about our fans. Much less delusion and arrogance about Chelsea fans than the likes of Arsenal or City.