The transformation of Chelsea in the last couple of months has been astonishing. A year ago we were crashing out of the Champions League against a Bayern Munich side that looked light-years ahead of us – and indeed proved to be far ahead of anyone else in the competition.
Chelsea had done well to get out of the group, and had plenty of talented players, but they looked a long long way from serious contenders. They had issues in goal, in defence and in midfield. Their situation in attack was better, but with a rookie manager in place, it wasn’t clear how easy it was going to be to catch up with the European giants who brushed us aside so easily.
How things have changed. Bookmaker-ratings.com say that we’re now THIRD favourite to win the grand competition, behind just Man City and Bayern.
That means we’re favoured ahead of Liverpool, PSG and Real Madrid… that would have been unthinkable 6 months ago, let alone a year ago. Of course, it’s all conditioned by our relatively easy draw – playing Porto is a lot easier for us than facing Madrid is for Liverpool, but nevertheless, it’s a testament to the incredible work Thomas Tuchel has done, as well as as a timely reminder of how quickly things can turn around in football.
Take Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. A year ago they looked indestructible, and given they had a manager in place for several seasons, reaching their level looked like a tall order, especially in the short term.
As it happens, Chelsea have gone up about four gears, while the Reds have gone into a tailspin. Now we’re the European team in the best form, and they’re struggling to qualify for next year’s competition, let alone win this one. The gap has been closed in an instant, with them falling away and us blasting past on our way up.
The best part is, there’s still a long way to go for this team. Results have been brilliant, but performances have been inconsistent at times. The defending has been brilliant, but the attacking movements haven’t quite clicked yet. Last summer’s signings have all shone, in patches, but none has yet reached the levels expected of them. With a little more time, there’s more to come from lots of these players, and the bookies may well have to start putting us at the top of their rankings more regularly.
