Chelsea to win the title? It looks a possibility now under Enzo Maresca - Premier League hits and misses

8 December 2024, 10:29 | Updated: 9 December 2024, 06:13

Maresca calls it right as Chelsea send title warning

At the start of the season, the chatter around the Premier League title race focused on whether Arsenal could finally topple Manchester City. Liverpool's strong start put them in the conversation. It is now impossible to ignore their nearest challengers Chelsea.

They had to come from two goals down to win 4-3 away at Tottenham on Sunday but the performance was a little more emphatic than that score suggests. Sky Sports' Paul Merson even called the victory at the interval when Spurs were still leading.

Enzo Maresca's changes at half-time helped Chelsea win the game. One was subtle, switching his centre-backs because Benoit Badiashile was struggling to deal with Dominic Solanke and Heung-Min Son on his weaker right side. It was the right move.

The decision to withdraw Romeo Lavia was intriguing because he was perhaps Chelsea's best player in the first half. Maresca recognised that he needed a specialist right-back in Malo Gusto but opted to move Moises Caicedo into midfield rather than remove him.

Maresca later confirmed Lavia had a slight hamstring complaint and felt it was better to miss 45 minutes instead of five or six games, in stark contrast to Ange Postecoglou's decision to leave Micky van de Ven on. It worked out for the Chelsea boss. Two Cole Palmer penalties. One stunning Enzo Fernandez strike.

• Tottenham 3-4 Chelsea - report & highlights
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The first penalty was won as a result of that man Caicedo running into the box and drawing the rash foul by Yves Bissouma. A good afternoon's work for Maresca then, and a fifth win in a row in all competitions to lift them above Arsenal into second spot.

How much further can they go? Some supporters themselves will be quick to say that goalkeeper Robert Sanchez remains a concern, while there are still issues to address at the back. Liverpool and Arsenal both have better defensive records than Chelsea.

But no team can come close to matching their 35 goals so far and that firepower could yet be the difference in a tight title race. Chelsea will win a lot of games and do not have the distractions of their rivals. An opportunity is emerging for Maresca's fledgling side.
Adam Bate

Postecoglou's Spurs flatter to deceive again

Postecoglou pointed to fine margins as his Tottenham team came out on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller against Chelsea and a generous interpretation of events might conclude that he had a point. The same could be said of Spurs' season.

Six more points and they would be handily placed in fifth, one point behind Manchester City. A couple of wins from games against Crystal Palace, Ipswich and Bournemouth would have been enough. Or how about holding on to that two-goal lead at Brighton?

But the reality is that Postecoglou's Tottenham keep leaking those two-goal leads and they keep leaking points. It is not bad luck. It is beginning to feel like a consequence of the coach's mantra, one that prioritises style of play over navigating the game's nuances.

There was no hint of control even when gifted two goals by Marc Cucurella's early slips. The result is that as fine as those margins may be, Spurs now sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table after 15 games. They have lost more than they have won.

In fact, of the 17 teams that have been in the Premier League both this season and last, only two have lost more games in the competition than Tottenham since Christmas. Dominic Solanke arrived in the summer but the other additions were young prospects.

As a result, are the signs of progress imminent? For all the talk of trophies in the second season, maybe this is his Spurs. "Tottenham are so close to being a good side," said Jamie Carragher on co-commentary for Sky Sports. "But they always let you down."
Adam Bate

Corners are great - but Arsenal need more from open play

For the second game in a row, Arsenal produced an xG of around two, while giving their opponents very little at the other end. It was enough for victory against Manchester United, but not enough here.

It was also the second game in a row where 75 per cent of Arsenal's xG came from corner kicks alone. From the dead ball, the Gunners are phenomenal - but at present they are not doing enough from open play.

• Fulham 1-1 Arsenal - report & highlights
• As it happened: Gunners frustrated in derby | Teams | Match stats

Arsenal have barely got to 1.0 worth of xG in their last two games away from the corner flag. "It's never enough if you don't score three, four or five," said Mikel Arteta after the game. "If we want to improve we have to be better in every action that we do."

Fulham's low block frustrated Arsenal. Of course it did - they have the fifth-best defensive structure in the division when it comes to Expected Goals Conceded. Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard barely got a sniff down the wings, while Kai Havertz was muscled out of the duels by Issa Diop and Calvin Bassey.

Arsenal have to face low block most weeks - "This is football. We cannot cry about it," added Arteta - whose team need to become more creative when they don't have corners.
Sam Blitz

Is Robinson one of the best left-backs in the league?

Bukayo Saka barely got a sniff. It wasn't until Arsenal's disallowed goal for offside in the dying moments of the game when the winger finally got free of Antonee Robinson.

Part of the reason why Fulham are such a bogey team for Arsenal, who haven't beaten the Cottagers in three games now, is because one of their best players has been limited by the same full-back every time.

"Not just this afternoon, if you go back last season, the two games he played against Arsenal, you can see more or less the same situation," said Marco Silva at full-time.

Before then making a big statement: "He is one of the best left-backs in this league."

It is certainly the case. Last season he had more assists from open play than any Premier League full-back and now he leads the way for overall assists amongst defenders with four. But, like against Saka on Sunday, his defensive numbers stand out too. Robinson is a key player in both boxes for Silva's side.

"He's a top player, if he has to play in three days again," he said. "He's a proper athlete. He's really improving season by season."

In the days of inverted full-backs and defenders jumping into midfield, it is refreshing to see an old-fashioned full-back stand out in the Premier League. Is Robinson set for a 2025 move?
Sam Blitz

Promising signs for Ruud and the Foxes

It's only two games and new manager bounce is always a factor - but Van Nistelrooy seems to be having an impact at Leicester.

The Foxes lacked intent in the first half but came out a different side after the restart, which would hint at a positive response to the team talk.

Conceding again was a blow but the response was immense. Kick-started by Vardy, who continues to defy his age, Leicester battled back and found a way to make it two games unbeaten under the new boss.

• Leicester 2-2 Brighton - report & highlights
• As it happened

With Ipswich losing late, it's a four-point swing in terms of the gap to the bottom three and having pressure like that off the shoulders of the new boss could be huge in the early stages of his time here.

"The performance of the second half permitted us to score two goals," the Leicester boss continued.

"We controlled the game and they are one of the best footballing sides in this league. We get only one point with a better performance than Tuesday. Silly old game!"

It is still early days but the signs are promising. The best way to endear yourself to the fans is to get results and Van Nistelrooy has continued to do that today - but Newcastle away will be his biggest test yet.
Patrick Rowe

Brighton let another lead slip

"We need to be more mature," said Hurzeler after the game.

It is now 14 points lost from winning positions for Brighton, which is more than any other side in the Premier League.

No team can win every game but if they had secured even half of those points that have evaded them, they would be sitting comfortably in second.

Three games without a win and heading into a tough clash against rivals Crystal Palace, live on Sky Sports, is not an ideal situation to be in. Especially with confidence low.

"When you are 2-0 up, you control the whole game, you should be disappointed," the Brighton boss continued. "We get punished for two easy mistakes. The third time this season.

"We need to find the right game management."
Patrick Rowe

Muric costs Ipswich - time to drop him?

The theory goes that a goalkeeper can win you a certain amount of points a season. That especially can be true for teams down at the bottom of the Premier League. Just look at Mads Hermansen at Leicester - he's been their best player this season.

The opposite can be said about Arijanet Muric at Ipswich. He is a liability.

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His summer signing for £15million from Burnley looks questionable after his moment of madness to run off his line to narrow the angle on Dango Ouattara when it was a defender's job. Ipswich hadn't looked overly troubled in the second half and could smell that all-important first home win but that error led to Bournemouth's equaliser and the rest is history.

Burnley fans won't be overly surprised by Muric's latest blunder at the top level. He was officially responsible for two errors that led to goals against Burnley last season but there were plenty of unofficial mishaps that played a part in their relegation.

He can't be trusted at this level. Lewis Jones

(c) Sky Sports 2024: Chelsea to win the title? It looks a possibility now under Enzo Maresca - Premier League hits and misses