The Sarri era at Chelsea is going better than expected

Maurizio Sarri took over at Chelsea with preseason already well under way, but the team’s fast start has led to talk of a potential title challenge.

Whatever “Sarri-ball” really is, we were told not to expect it at Chelsea for quite some time. After all, Maurizio Sarri was appointed the club’s new manager with preseason already under way. The Blues left it late to make a change in the dugout, immediately putting Sarri up against it as he attempted to mould his team before the close of the transfer window and the start of the season.

And yet what we’ve seen so far has exceeded expectations. Chelsea might not be playing full-blown Sarri-ball, with the group of players at Stamford Bridge still growing accustomed to the former Napoli manager’s ways and methods, but they currently sit joint-top of the Premier League table with three wins from three.

So are Chelsea for real this season? Can they challenge for the Premier League title? That would be above and beyond what could be reasonably expected of Sarri’s side at this stage of his tenure, but given what he has already achieved, what level can Chelsea reach under his stewardship over the course of a whole season?

This could go one of two ways for the Blues. They could evoke the spirit of their title-winning triumph in their first season under Antonio Conte by responding to the novelty of change and the freshness of new ideas. Or their first season under Sarri could play out more like Chelsea’s first season of Jose Mourinho’s second stint at the club.

The latter seems more likely. Manchester City are in their third season under Pep Guardiola, with Liverpool also in their third full season with Jurgen Klopp in charge. Those two teams are a more direct reflection of their respective managers and so it would be understandable if they establish a gulf between themselves and Chelsea as the best of the rest in this season’s Premier League.

Indeed, in Mourinho’s first season back at Chelsea, he laid the groundwork for a genuine title challenge the season after. “The title race is between two horses and a little horse that needs milk and needs to learn how to jump,” the Portuguese coach said at the time as Liverpool and City contested a compelling contest at the top of the table.

It seems likely history will repeat itself in this regard, with Klopp and Guardiola set to go head-to-head for supremacy at the top of the English game. But Chelsea certainly boast the quality to make themselves known, at least as a peripheral force, in the title race this season. And in Sarri they have a manager who will be pragmatic in getting the best out of what he has.

In N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, it could be argued the Blues possess the best midfield unit in the English game right now. In games against Liverpool and City, that could be key and could feasibly give Chelsea an edge. Other areas of their squad don’t compare so well, but midfielders have never been more important than they are in the modern game.

Chelsea are a team, and a club, who know how to win a Premier League title. It’s little over a year since the Blues were crowd champions of England, strolling to the championship with scant opposition. The core of that title-winning team remains at Stamford Bridge and so that experience won’t have left them. The muscle memory could kick in if Sarri keeps Chelsea near the top of the table.

Whatever happens, Sarri’s Chelsea will make a compelling case study this season. The Italian is charged with not only changing the style of play at Stamford Bridge, but overhauling the entire culture around the place. Ultimately, Chelsea will probably fall short. They will be Mourinho’s little horses rather than Conte’s title winners. But their start to the season has at least raised the question — how far can they go?