The key Stamford Bridge performers who could well help guide Jose Mourinho’s side to a flawless 2014/15 campaign.
Chelsea have opened a five point lead at the top of the Premier League table and it would take a brave man to bet against Jose Mourinho’s side romping to a title success come May, however perhaps the west London side can go one better.
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Arsenal famously completed the 2003/04 season unbeaten and there is perhaps sufficient quality in Mourinho’s expansive squad to replicate that feat in 2014/15.
If the Blues are to pull off such an achievement then these five players will be key to their efforts.
Diego Costa
Though Jose Mourinho would not doubt have expected a great deal from his £32m summer signing even the Chelsea manager will have been amazed at the speed with which the former Atletico Madrid man has taken to life in the Premier League.
Nine goals in seven games is a superb early season return and if Chelsea are to win the Premier League at a canter, or indeed go the entire season without a defeat, then a lot could depend on how the Brazilian born Spaniard fares over the winter, when the games come thick and fast.
Cesc Fabregas
Spaniard felt under appreciated at Barcelona and his return to the Premier League has been near flawless. The former Arsenal man has been a virtual metronome in the centre of the park, picking off assists with regularity and offering a great link between midfield and attack.
The 27 year old could also help Chelsea to fill the void left by Frank Lampard and if there is perhaps one area of his game that could need improving then that’s a lack of goals. Jose Mourinho would look to Fabregas to weigh in with a dozen plus to help provide an alternative source of ammunition.
Nemanja Matic
There will have been some who questioned Jose Mourinho’s decision to bring the Serbian back to Stamford Bridge but one imagines that the rangy midfielder has extinguished those doubters with his early season efforts. The pitch perfect displays thus far will have left the likes of Ramires and John Obi Mikel considering their long term options at the west London side.
Matic offers more than just brute force as the 26 year old is also a very intelligent distributor of the ball and has a great engine and is of the ‘less is more’ school of player and rarely makes an error, offering that extra layer of defence in front of Chelsea’s centre-backs.
Gary Cahill
Arguably Cahill is a hugely underrated talent and the £7m paid to Bolton in January 2012 is fast becoming one hell of a bargain. The 28 year old can always be relied upon to bail out the club with a last ditch challenge if necessary, perhaps the real point being that such heroic efforts are rarely required such is his consistency.
John Terry showed a real return to form last term, rejuvenated following the return of Jose Mourinho, but the veteran skipper is unlikely to hit those heights consistently this season with his ageing legs set to enter their 34th year this December.
Mourinho will therefore look to Cahill to be the more reliable member of the central defensive pairing and one imagines that the England man won’t be found wanting.
Andre Schurrle
Perhaps perceived as an odd choice in such a list but the German offers Jose Mourinho something of a ‘luxury’ option, a cameo performer who can perhaps provide that extra bit of impetus as and when needed.
The World Cup winner has developed something of a supersub tag but is arguably much more than that. The rangy attacker can be called upon to help close out a game if necessary, the big man being very capable at holding up the ball.
The former Bayer Leverkusen can also be relied upon to be the battering ram needed if a goal is needed late on and is an all round battler who gives a great deal in the way of effort and guile.