Come on, own up. If you’re not a Chelsea supporter then it’s likely you’ve had a wee giggle over the last couple of years at their reckless spending.
Well, who’s laughing now? Enzo Maresca’s side are, of course, yet to win a trophy under his guidance but things are beginning to shape up rather well under the Italian’s stewardship.
Mauricio Pochettino has departed and all of a sudden, the Blues are no longer the laughing stock of English football.
At long, long last, their spending also looks rather fruitful. Chelsea’s squad is colossal but what it has allowed for is Maresca to essentially field an A team and a B team.
The A team (no not the one containing Mr. T), is the Premier League side, the one containing the likes of Levi Colwill, Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson.
That part of the club has guided the Londoners to third place in the top flight so far, while the B team has steered Maresca’s outfit to four wins from four in the Conference League.
Their latest victory was perhaps their toughest in the competition to date, overcoming German opposition Heidenheim 2-0 away from home.
Chelsea's best performers against Heidenheim
If there’s one player who deserves more football after his exploits on the continental stage, it’s Christopher Nkunku.
The new manager has made it no secret that he rates the Frenchman highly, so why, therefore, has he started just once in the Premier League this season?
There is one obvious answer; Palmer. Very few players are going to start over the England international.
Nkunku is certainly staking his claim, though, and actually ranks as the club’s top scorer this term with 11 strikes in all competitions. The fact he’s only played 163 minutes in the league is puzzling.
The former Leipzig man added to his tally on Thursday evening, as too did Mykhailo Mudryk, a player who continues to attract criticism.
They aren’t the only two players who staked claims to be regular features in the A team. Chief among them was goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen.
Robert Sanchez has hardly been a pillar of consistency this term and thus, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if the big Swede usurped him eventually.
Against Heidenheim in midweek, the stopper was near flawless between the sticks with Football.London’s Bobby Vincent handing him a 9/10 match rating and celebrating what was a ‘genuinely incredible double save’ in the second half.
Jadon Sancho also looked in good order, supplying the assist for Nkunku’s goal. It wasn’t all positive for Maresca, however, as some on the away side disappointed in Germany.
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Chelsea's underperformers against Heidenheim
This was a big night for some of the club’s fringe players with a relatively untested midfield duo of Cesare Casadei starting the game.
Casadei did look tidy on the ball, completing 86% of his passes, but his late red card will have frustrated Maresca. It will frustrate the player most, though, particularly as he will miss their next Conference League clash with Astana. When you don’t get much football, the last thing you want is a suspension. It’s rather typical.
Another underperformer was defender Axel Disasi. Surprise, surprise. The Frenchman was interestingly handed the captain’s armband for the night but it’s safe to say he did not do that role justice.
Handed a 5/10 rating by Football.London, he was ‘too easily bypassed on occasions’ in their words and the stats certainly reflect a bit of a mixed bag from the defender.
Minutes played
90
Touches
78
Accurate passes
59/63 (94%)
Key passes
0
Crosses
0/1
Long balls
2/2
Shots
0
Dribbles
2/2
Ground duels won
6/10
Aerial duels won
1/1
Possession lost
7x
Said to have delivered an “embarrassing” performance by Chelsea content creator Felix Johnston, Disasi did his desire for more football no favours on Thursday and was fortunately bailed out by the exceptional Jorgensen.
One notable moment towards the back end of the game saw some dodgy play from Disasi lead to a chance for Heidenheim’s Leo Scienza but he fired wide.
From a numbers point of view, it wasn’t awful from the Frenchman, but it wasn’t amazing either. Playing out of position at right-back, he completed 94% of his passes and won his one and only aerial duel but his lack of composure led to the concession of possession on seven occasions and two fouls being made.
Failing to register a key pass or shot in the game, Maresca will have been crying out for a lot more from his full-back with Malo Gusto given the night off and Reece James out injured.
Compared to Disasi, Gusto is far more equipped to get further forward. The fact he averages 1.4 shots per game in the Premier League, the most of any Chelsea defender and the fifth-best record in the entire squad, speaks volumes.
As a result, the former Monaco man certainly needs to be given a place on the bench this weekend. Maresca cannot afford to start him anytime soon in the league.
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