Has Chelsea overtaken Manchester City as the favourites to win the title after Matchday 1 of the English Premier League?
The 2021/22 Premier League season is underway: most big boys got off to a stellar start, with Manchester United walking over Leeds, Chelsea demolishing Crystal Palace and Liverpool beating Norwich as usual – the only exception being current champions Manchester City, who lost to Tottenham 1-0 in their opener.
So, even though the season has just begun, who’s really making a move for the English top-flight title?
Chelsea, and here’s why.
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The Blues had a very successful year, last year, employing former PSG and Borussia Dortmund manager, Thomas Tuchel, to come in and merge this team of superstars.
In return, he led them to a Champions League triumph over Manchester City, having been in the same position the year before with his former team.
It is under no uncertain term that Chelsea will be a force this year, even more so now as they have added Romelu Lukaku to their ranks, a goalscorer in his prime.
Under Tuchel, the London side went on a 14-game unbeaten streak and built a strong defence that brought the best out of the defensive players in the team, showcasing midfielder N’golo Kante fully.
Throughout last season, Chelsea showed glimpses of what they can be, having an abundance of young attacking players with the likes of Kai Havertz, who would eventually score the winner in the Champions League Final and Christian Pulisic in the team. These players, who are full of talent, can only get better under Tuchel’s guidance.
Where Chelsea often fell short, was in the final third and to put it basically, planting the ball in the net. Timo Werner has struggled since joining the Premier League, but will no doubt improve this year.
Despite this, adding Lukaku, with his incredible goalscoring record in this league and in Italy, really completes the side and will make them a force that can knock any team over.
This team. 💙 pic.twitter.com/UZESk4TJGY
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 15, 2021
Chelsea won 3-0 against Crystal Palace on the opening day without Lukaku. The performance was regimented and they controlled the game throughout – though this wasn’t really a test – it’s a strong start and when Lukaku gets on the pitch, this team will be the team to look out for.
Chelsea are getting better and better: they already have the Champions League and Super Cup – the Premier League could be next.