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When Chelsea won the Conference League in May, a victory secured by the standard ice-cold Cole Palmer performance in a final, the reaction was restrained and there was no internal talk of an impending title challenge. The vibe is different now. It is hard not to dream when Chelsea perform as they did against Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup.
Nobody is getting carried away. Chelsea know what the rest of us know, which is that they are not the best team in the world. They are not the finished article. They are young and still have much to learn. Yet there is a gold badge on the shirt for the next four years and if Chelsea woke up feeling $100m on Monday morning it will not only have been because of the prize money made during their month in the US.
Where does this end? Chelsea have built priceless momentum and will head into next season with serious aspirations of winning the Premier League and going far in the Champions League. They are youthful, aggressive, motivated and extremely talented. They are champions of the world, an achievement that should not be downplayed. They were the second-youngest side at the Club World Cup and have benefited from treating it seriously. They have grown as a team, honing their tactical vision and hardening their mentality, and it has done wonders for Enzo Maresca’s standing as head coach after a challenging first year.
Maresca has seemed on dodgy ground at times. He wobbled during a difficult spell after Christmas and has not found it easy to convince match-going fans to embrace his patient, positional football. The players, though, are different. Maresca clearly has total buy-in from the squad. “He is building something special,” Palmer said after leading the destruction of PSG with two goals and an assist for João Pedro before half-time. “He’s a top coach,” Malo Gusto said before the final. “He’s always watching his next opponent and doing analysis. That helps us.”
Maresca’s plan was perfect against PSG. Chelsea were coherent and disciplined. “The first 10 minutes, the team was there to show that we were there to win,” Maresca said. Chelsea were physical from the start. They went direct, beating Luis Enrique’s ferocious pressing system, and targeted PSG’s left flank. “That’s where we tried to win the game,” Maresca added. “But you can give the players a plan – in the end it’s them who have to execute it.”
Chelsea delivered, the collective combining to create conditions for Palmer’s quality to shine. It should do wonders for their confidence. They are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will believe they can compete with the best after doing to PSG what the French club have been doing to everyone else in Europe during the past eight months.
This is a project moving in the right direction. Palmer is the jewel in the crown – incredibly he was unwell last week but still left PSG feeling under the weather – but it is a team effort. The work conducted by the recruitment team of Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields, Laurence Stewart and Sam Jewell cannot be overlooked. They have faced external criticism but will earn more respect after this triumph.
The question is whether Chelsea can push on. They were reluctant to say that they were challengers last season, even when two points off the top just before Christmas. But something shifted when they got over the line during the run-in and finished fourth. Champions League qualification gave them belief. Thumping PSG enhances it.
“I said at the start of this tournament that our plan is to win it and people looked at me as if I was crazy,” Levi Colwill said. “I’m going to say the exact same thing now going into the Premier League and Champions League. I think we’re ready.”
Chelsea look stronger. João Pedro has transformed the attack in the space of two weeks, impressing with his pressing, mobility and link play. Maresca has options. He was able to bring Liam Delap on against PSG and use the striker’s pace on the break. Chelsea have different modes of attack. They can counter with Pedro Neto’s pace on the flanks. Jamie Gittens and Estêvão Willian are joining and will provide more depth on the flanks. Another positive from the tournament? Estêvão proving that he can take on English defences by scoring against Chelsea in his final game for Palmeiras.
The unknown is whether Chelsea are going to be more adept at breaking down low blocks. There was space against PSG but other sides will not be as accommodating. Chelsea are going to come up against a lot of deep defences. It is partly why João Pedro has been signed; Maresca regards the Brazilian’s versatility as a way to unlock tight games. Enzo Fernández’s development as a box-crashing midfielder is another plus.
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There will be challenges, not least when it comes to dealing with the physical impact of the Club World Cup. Chelsea have three weeks off before returning for pre-season and host Crystal Palace in their opening Premier League game. It is hard to know how this plays out. They could use the positive vibes to hit the ground running but there may come a point when they crash. Or they may start slowly and find themselves in another battle for the top four. The additional demands of an expanded Champions League further complicates matters. Chelsea were able to rest their A-listers in the Conference League but that is not an option this time. It is acknowledged that Maresca needs cover for Marc Cucurella at left-back.
But the squad does not need a lot of work. It is said that Robert Sánchez is not a title-winning goalkeeper but he was outstanding against PSG. There has been a lot of talk about a new centre-back but Chelsea gave away little against Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. There is depth in a lot of other positions.
Not that it will be quiet before the window shuts. Chelsea’s bank balance has been boosted and they are nothing if not afraid to trade. Noni Madueke is going to Arsenal and another attacker could be targeted if Nicolas Jackson or Christopher Nkunku leaves. Tyrique George has a lot of wingers in front of him. Chelsea have been fined by Uefa for breaching financial fair play rules and must generate positive income if they are to register new players in their Champions League squad. The goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic is joining Bournemouth for £25m. Chelsea have outcasts to sell; plenty of ways to bring in money. Buyers must be found for Raheem Sterling, João Félix, Axel Disasi and many more.
That element of the approach led by Clearlake Capital, the club’s majority owner, leaves some observers cold. It is important that Chelsea embrace stability and keep the core group together. “We’ve got the best players in our team, young players, and that’s our plan: to win the biggest trophies for Chelsea,” Colwill said. “No matter what, we’ve got to stick together.” He was on top of the world. Chelsea have no intention of crashing back to earth. They think this is just the beginning.
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