Chelsea are exceeding expecatations

No one would have thought at the beginning of the season when Frank Lampard took over that Chelsea would be doing this well. They had a transfer ban lurking over their heads and with Lampard only having one year of experience as a manager with Derby, many expected them to have a transition year. Critics thought that they would struggle to make the Europa League spots let alone the top four.

After a terrible opening weekend when they lost 4-0 to Manchester United, which was followed by a 1-1 draw with Leicester, Lampard was already the favourite to be the first manager to lose his job. People were saying that he doesn’t have enough experience and that his squad was too young to compete. However, Lampard and his team didn’t listen to the criticism and just kept trying to play the football that he wanted and was trying to implement at the club.

A narrow win at Norwich was then followed by another draw at home, with only one win in four was piling early pressure on the squad. A big win away to Wolves helped build the confidence and a week later they put in a good performance against leaders Liverpool and pushed them until the end of the match. Since that game, Chelsea have won six consecutive Premier League matches and have climbed the table into third, level on points with Leicester in second.

Their next match after the international break will be against champions City and will be a real test of the young squad’s character. They are currently one point above City and if they can go to the Etihad and get a win, it will be a real statement that they are here to challenge the big boys.

The transfer ban could be a blessing in disguise for the team, as many of their young talents, most notably, Mount, Abraham, and Tomori, who have all been loaned out for the past couple of seasons would probably not have been given a chance if the ban was not imposed. They are taking full advantage of it showing they deserve to be in the team. It is intriguing to see how the rest of the season goes and how this young team progresses.