Chelsea continued their good start to life under Maurizio Sarri as they claimed a 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace this weekend. The goals came through a brace from Alvaro Morata and a goal from Pedro. Andros Townsend managed to get on the scoreboard for Palace but his goal proved to be a consolation for Roy Hodgson’s troops.
Morata’s goals were of particular encouragement. The Spaniard has been struggling for form since the start of 2018 and has also been criticised for his performances this season. Many pundits and fans believe that the Blues’ lack of a prolific striker this season could be the blame if they fail to win major silverware.
Blues fans can hope that Morata’s performance will give him the confidence to score goals on a regular basis going forward.
Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal this weekend means that the Blues move above the Reds into second place in the league standings on goal difference. They trail leaders Manchester City by two points.
The result also means that Sarri has now gone 11 games in the league unbeaten and he has equalled the longest unbeaten run for a new manager in the English top-flight. The feat was last achieved by former Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark in 1994.
Chelsea are certainly showing good signs this season. Even though pre-season expectations were not high for the club among neutrals, they do have a side which is laden with quality. If they manage to keep up the current level of momentum, there is every chance that they could be contenders for this season.
After the Palace win, talkSport’s Ian Abrahams questioned Sarri about his team’s title chances for this season. The Italian tactician opted to remain humble and responded by saying: “No! I thought that the first two months could be very difficult for me. I’m very lucky to work here the same as I did in Naples.
“I think in this period of the season, it’s very important for us to stay close to the top. We knew very well at the beginning that there was a gap – the gap between us and the top last season was 30 points and it’s very difficult to cover this gap in only six months. We’re trying to do it but we know it will be very difficult.
“I think this record [longest unbeaten record for a new PL manager] is not because of the coaching, it’s because of the team. I was lucky because I have players who are very strong technically so over the last two months they were able to win without any great levels of organisation. I’m not doing very much!”
