Three games – two wins and a draw to start the 2021-22 Premier League season for Chelsea Football Club. Add into the mix, a Super Cup triumph over Europa League winners Villarreal. All in all, it’s been a productive and promising August 2021 for Thomas Tuchel’s Blues.
Given the League is on pause while the international fixtures are taking place, now is an appropriate time to reflect on the month that was to see what key themes were present, and more importantly, quickly examine the road ahead as we navigate through a steadily building fixture list.
The Story So Far – A Bright Start
Chelsea kicked off their campaign with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Unai Emery’s Villarreal following a 1-1 score after 90 minutes. This secured the Blues first Super Cup since 1998 when Chelsea beat another Spanish opponent in Real Madrid.
While the performance itself was a bit topsy-topsy at times against the Yellow Submarine, which was to be expected given it was Chelsea’s first proper competitive match, the result seemed to positively propel the Blues into the start of the new Premier League campaign.
Tuchel’s men were almost flawless in their first two games against Crystal Palace and Arsenal. Not only did they score 5 goals and keep two clean sheets, but they were in total control of both matches. These two performances set an early statement to the rest of the league that the European Champions were looking to now channel their efforts on being the nation’s best once more.
To conclude their final game of the month, the Blues locked horns with the Reds in the first game-of-the-season at the notoriously difficult Anfield. Similar to Chelsea, Liverpool entered this clash full of confidence after securing two comfortable wins and equally dominant displays.
In the end, the Blues walked away from Anfield with a hard-fought and well-deserved point, despite being a player down for an entire half given the harsh dismissal to Reece James. On another day, Chelsea would have walked away with all three points had they been more precise with their final third passes.
The 3 key things that stood from Chelsea’s displays so far have been:
1. Defensively disciplined
Following on from the back half of last season, Chelsea continue to demonstrate that they are very well disciplined and organised defensively, and with that, are extremely difficult to penetrate. Credit must be given to each member of the Blues backline as they look a supremely cohesive and committed defensive unit who are in harmony with respect to understanding and executing their role.
Special praise should be given to Marcos Alonso who was once thought to be on the outer has remained dogged and determined to keep himself in the conversation. Credit to him for his perseverance. Also worth shouting out youngster Trevoh Chalobah who has risen from nowhere to become a promising up and comer who has already cemented his place in Chelsea folklore by scoring a cracking long-range goal at Stamford Bridge on his debut against Crystal Palace.
While the Blues have faced a truly tough task in going to Anfield and fared well, there are some equally challenging crunch clashes upcoming in which Chelsea’s defence will be sternly tested.
2. Romelu revitalises our attack
The big talking point during last season (and for the past couple of seasons) for Chelsea was who was going to be the next prolific front man to lead the Blues into a genuine title charge? The answer to this question seems to be the returning protégé and future heir to King Didier Drogba, Romelu Lukaku. Fresh from a couple of stellar seasons with Serie A Champions Inter Milan, the Belgian bulldozer has kicked-off his reunion with his beloved Blues in tremendous fashion.
Having scored the opener on his second coming against bitter London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates, Lukaku has truly revolutionised Chelsea’s attack. Aside from getting on the goal sheet (as is expected of him), he has shown already that his contribution to the squad is far more than being a strong finisher. His ability to hold-up and bring others into the attack such as Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, be a focal point to start a move, and to make runs and receive the ball from all different areas has given Chelsea fans a lot of optimism that he might just be the final piece of Chelsea’s masterpiece puzzle.
3. Injuries and illnesses are a concern
For all of the positive vibes and strong performances in Chelsea’s displays so far, there’s still an element of vulnerability lingering amongst the Blues squad. During August 2021, we had the likes of Hakim Ziyech injure his shoulder in the Super Cup final just as he was starting to rediscover top form, Christian Pulisic tested positive for COVID-19, and N’Golo Kanté re-injure his ankle during Chelsea’s crunch clash with Liverpool and remains a doubt for the Aston Villa game.
Also during the game against the Reds, Jorginho gave Blues fans a moment of panic as he went down in the first half but thankfully was able to shake it off and continue. Fortunately for Chelsea they were able to secure the services of Saul Niguez on deadline day to bolster their midfield options.
Although Chelsea has a strong and competitive squad, given it is only just the beginning phases of the season, having these early injuries and illnesses to regular first team members will surely be a cause for concern for Tuchel. Therefore, one wouldn’t be surprised if earlier and more strategic squad rotation will be deployed to try and combat the issue of injury and fatigue as Chelsea are expected to compete for trophies on multiple fronts.
The Road Ahead (Sep 2021)
Chelsea play six games throughout September 2021. The breakdown of the games is as follows:
While all eyes will be on the two blockbuster Premier League clashes with London rivals Tottenham and Champions League finalists’ Manchester City, it is important to acknowledge that there are also two highly important Champions League matches to be negotiated. Further, there are also two very tricky contests against the rising Aston Villa.
Given the games will be coming thick and fast for the Blues across three competitions in September, one suspects there will be a much wider utilisation of Tuchel’s squad, particularly for those players that have been on the periphery since the start of the season e.g. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, Thiago Silva.
In particular, the EFL Cup match against Dean Smith’s Villa will be an opportune time to give some of the talented youngsters some minutes as well as allow some of under-used squad members a chance to convince Tuchel of granting them more minutes in the games forthcoming.
The challenging balancing act for Tuchel will be to ensure that he appropriately rotates his squad to keep them fresh and healthy, but at the same time, make changes that do not disrupt the team’s overall rhythm and cohesiveness. Fortunately most of the squad appear to be in reasonably good physical shape, despite N’Golo’s injury cloud and recent reports of Lukaku nursing a thigh injury.
Notwithstanding it is a long season with many twists and turns, safely navigating through this turbulent period will be crucial for the Blues in terms of reaffirming their claims of being a genuine title contender and being a side ‘no one wants to play against‘.
Come on you Blues! 
Twitter: @RJ_Goodthings