Chelsea didn’t win any games in preseason, but there are still plenty of reasons to be positive going into today’s game against Swansea.
The young players held their own among more experienced counterparts; particularly Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Bertrand Traore.
Traore looked very capable against Fiorentina and due to his versatility and his overall quality, he’ll have a good chance of breaking into the first XI this season.
The new signings look to be bedding in nicely. Falcao has shown good movement and good technique so far, despite being a couple of weeks behind the rest of the squad in terms of fitness. He looks a yard short of pace, but that is only to be expected due to his extended break after the Copa America.
Begovic looked assured against Fiorentina during the week, which suggests that Chelsea fans can still feel confident when Courtois isn’t available.
A number of players haven’t produced their best form in preseason, but they’ve never looked outgunned, even with heavily varied line-ups.
John Terry is still marshalling and pestering with his usual instinctive gusto and the midfield looks ready to go up another gear, led by the indefatigable Serbian, Nemanja Matic.
Perhaps due to the fact that they still have a relatively small squad, the players have appeared more cautious in friendlies this year, treating the games as opportunities to build fitness rather than risking injuries by playing at full tilt.
While it was difficult to watch Arsenal galvanised by Petr Cech last weekend, it took a wonderstrike to break the deadlock between the two sides in a very tight match. The Gunners look a stronger outfit this year, but they had to play at their best at Wembley to beat a Chelsea side with one eye on the first game of the season. The real competition starts today at Stamford Bridge against Swansea.
It’s hard to write Chelsea off based on offseason results and it’s even harder to ignore one of the consistent themes with Mourinho’s Chelsea teams; they consistently produce results when the pressure is on.
With Jose having signed a new 4 year contract to extend his stay at the Bridge, you can guarantee that his side will continue to compete for the biggest trophies this season and beyond.
This may be a brief period of transition before Chelsea gain extra transfer funds from the new television deal next summer, but, knowing the Portuguese tactician as we do, he’ll find a way to compete for trophies this season, whatever challenges arise.
