Chelsea vice-captain Cesar Azpilicueta has revealed the things his side would have to do to successfully challenge for the Premier League title this season.
It has been a brilliant start for Chelsea in the Premier League, winning all three games so far and joining a group of four clubs to record this win rate, including Watford who lie behind Livepool and are two places on top of Tottenham Hotspur who lie fourth.
The Blues brought in Robert Green, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Kepa Arrizabalaga to beef up their squad this season as they find fresh hopes of winning under Maurizio Sarri. The new boss has introduced a new dimension to Chelsea’s play and their attacking stats have been bonkers so far. But they have struggled at times and seen in the latter stages of the first half against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, and in most part of their third game against Newcastle United.
The Toon were resilient and looked comfortable sitting deep and inviting the pressure from Chelsea. Eden Hazard and co were unable to break Rafa Benitez’s backline until a penalty decision was given by the referee after a foul on Marcos Alonso.
Azpilicueta says his side can go all the way this season, but have to improve their chance creation especially against teams who will be happy to sit in defense all game, and most of the top flight clubs will do that against an attacking side like Chelsea.
“Creating more chances from open play is something we will work on, I’m sure. We want to control the game and have the ball, and we want to be dangerous in front of the goal. As a team we know we can improve and we will work on that.
I am sure in some games we will have to deal with a defensive opponent, in other games we will have to deal with a different type of game and player. But the Premier League is the best league in the world, and we know you have to fight every game to win points. Whatever it takes we have to work hard to win games.”
Cesar Azpilicueta, Express
