Are Chelsea The Real Deal? Three Talking Points From The EPL

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Enzo Maresca, the manager of Chelsea, does not want to put extra pressure on his young side, but it is becoming more evident that they are Premier League title hopefuls.

After holding Arsenal at Fulham, the Blues made an emphatic statement by winning 4-3 on Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to move just four points clear of Liverpool’s leaders.

The outcome leaves Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou with bleak reading, his team currently sits eleventh in the standings just one point ahead of struggling United.

Three Premier League weekend talking points are examined by AFP Sport.

Chelsea – the real deal?

Just a few months into his Chelsea tenure at Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca transformed a large squad into a potent fighting force.

He said last week that the Blues could continue to “dominate” English football, despite not having won silverware since winning the Champions League trophy in 2021.

After his team beat Spurs 2-0, the Italian declared, “We are happy that our fans are happy.”

They can dream, because they can think anything because the reality is that, as I’ve said before, “we are not ready to be there,” but we must keep improving every day.

However, after winning four straight titles in the top flight, Chelsea are now within striking distance of Liverpool.

For Tottenham, the result is another major blow — just two weeks after they blew Manchester City away 4-0 at the Etihad.

On December 7, 2024, Manchester United’s Moroccan defender #03 Noussair Mazraoui (2nd R) and Nottingham Forest’s Welsh defender #07 Neco Williams wrestle for the ball during the English Premier League game between United and Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

Ruben Amorim, who joined Manchester United last month, experienced a new manager’s bounce, but he won’t be under any illusions about the magnitude of his task right now.

The former Sporting Lisbon boss anticipated a “storm will come” and that it will arrive sooner than he had anticipated.

United went down 2-0 to high-flying Arsenal in midweek and on Saturday lost 3-2 at home to Nottingham Forest, paying for defensive lapses.

The 20-time champions are 13th in the table with 19 points, their lowest position after 15 league matches since the 1986/87 season.

Amorim has urged United’s players and supporters to trust the process, saying it will be a “long journey”.

The club confirmed the shock departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth just five months after he took the position, but there was more upheaval on Sunday.

With their next two weeks away fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester City, United could face a battle to maintain their dignity.

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Home sweet home

Jekyll and Hyde are a Brentford team; their performance at home is the best in the Premier League, but their absence is terrible.

At the Gtech Community Stadium, Thomas Frank’s men won their seventh home game of the season with a 4-2 victory over Newcastle, which was another draw.

The Bees had four or more goals in their previous five home games.

Only second-placed Chelsea have more than Brentford’s overall total of 31 goals this season.

“The number of goals we’ve scored in the league, I don’t think any of us understand how crazy good that is”, said Frank.

Despite having six defeats and one draw in their seven games, Brentford are ninth in the table with 23 points.

With many of the bigger clubs struggling for consistency, they could be pushing for a spot in Europe.