Chelsea has turned around their dismal run of play under Graham Potter and is now flying high and confident.
Three straight victories for the Blues have relieved pressure on Potter and entirely changed the atmosphere at the team. After Tottenham’s 2-0 setback a few weeks ago, the situation seemed hopeless. But victories against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund were followed by a 3-1 victory at Leicester on Saturday.
Chelsea are starting to gel now that certain important players have returned from injury. The starting Lineup is more composed. At the King Power Stadium, goals from Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, and Mateo Kovacic put an end to the action. Now, focus is on Everton the following weekend.
Enzo Fernandez enjoyed a strong game at Leicester on Saturday and earned some glowing praise from his manager.
“He’s a fantastic player, a young player. I think he’s going to get better and better when he’s with us more,” Potter told reporters after the match.
“He’s just arrived to a new country and a new league so you always have to adapt to that. You can see his quality, when he gets the ball he passes forward. He sees everything.”
After a standout World Cup, the £105 million Chelsea man was always going to be measured by his record transfer value, and he is now settling in to life in the Premier League.
Will Madueke move to Chelsea?
According to Marcel Brands, director of football at PSV Eindhoven, the club did not want to trade Noni Madueke to Chelsea in January but felt they had no other option.
The Dutch team, PSV, was obliged to sell the 20-year-old winger after Chelsea paid £29 million to sign him.
“Of course, it was a financial issue,” Brands told the BNR programme The Friday Move, via Voetbal Primeur. But on the other hand, you also have to be realistic. If Liverpool come for Gakpo and promises have been made, you can’t stop that.”
“Madueke was not planned and not expected, but it came a lot of money on the table, and it was Chelsea. That’s when we made that choice.”
To avoid being complacent against Liverpool this week, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has urged his team to remember their close call with Chelsea.
Real hosts Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday with a 5-2 advantage. But Ancelotti brought up their previous meeting against the Blues from the previous campaign, when the Spanish giants won the first leg 3-1 at Chelsea Bridge before nearly losing the match.
A remarkable three-goal Chelsea lead in the Spanish capital gave them the advantage in the match. But a Madrid comeback forced extra time and a thrilling 5-4 aggregate triumph for Madrid.
“We have had the experience of last year against Chelsea,” Ancelotti said. “We had a three-goal advantage, that is why we are and were favourites, but the other fact is that we have to play another 90 minutes.”
Follow us on Twitter to get regular football updates.
