Chelsea have only claimed four points from their opening three Premier League matches under Enzo Maresca, but there's evidence enough that the Blues are building something.
Frankly, the last few years have not been great under BlueCo's ownership, and while Mauricio Pochettino started to instil some fluency toward the end of his one-term stint, Maresca has been brought in to head a long-term project.
Against Crystal Palace, Chelsea might have only secured a draw, but they showed promising signs, with hope growing that the west Londoners will put to bed the issues of recent seasons under Maresca's wing.
How Chelsea performed vs Crystal Palace
The Italian's ball-playing vision is shaping up and was displayed through an emphatic first half against Palace on Saturday, with Nicolas Jackson scoring his second of the season and Chelsea looking slick and stylish – assured.
But Stamford Bridge was silenced by an Ebere Eze stunner after the break to restore parity and frustrate Maresca, who watched on as the pendulum swung and the control was lost, the contest becoming far more frenzied.
Maresca's decision to drop Enzo Fernandez into a makeshift right-back role contributed to the issues, with the Argentine looking unnatural and unable to produce the all-encompassing work that would be required.
Malo Gusto's injury blow
Gusto was forced off in the second half with an injury to cast a gloomy setting on Chelsea's pre-international-break performance. Reece James has not yet returned to first-team training after suffering a hamstring injury himself before the season started – albeit the club captain has been suspended anyway following a red card at the end of 2023/24.
The 21-year-old is a big talent but he's young and will need to raise his defensive game to another level if he wishes to perform with the steeliness that the Blues need across the duration of the campaign.
Minutes played
74'
Touches
46
Accurate passes
32/24 (94%)
Key passes
0
Dribble attempts
0/0
Tackles
1
Clearances
1
Total duels won
1/4 (25%)
Dribbled past
1x
Taking the whole season into account, Gusto has impressed with his doggedness and defensive robustness, averaging three tackles per game, but he's won less than half of his ground duels – 48% – while making an error leading to a shot against Manchester City on the opening day.
Chelsea correspondent Bobby Vincent was hardly scathing of Gusto's performance on Saturday, providing him with a 6/10 match rating, though he did note that the Frenchman 'struggled going forward', as well as his issues in protecting the rear.
That's not a regular occurrence, but Gusto's injury blow accentuates the interminable wait for James to return to the field, fit and firing once again. The powerful and athletic full-back could be the catalyst under Maresca's wing.
Because of that, even if the French defender has bounced back from his own ailment, he must be replaced.
The best replacement for Malo Gusto
It has been so frustrating to watch one of the Premier League's finest players founder over recent years, simply because of his misery on the fitness front.
James, aged 24, is a Champions League winner and “one of the best in the world”, having been hailed as much in the past by recent Palace recruit Trevoh Chalobah.
The international break comes at a good time for Chelsea, allowing Gusto and James to continue their recuperation. The former has been one of the outfit's better performers since joining from Lyon in a £26m transfer in 2023, but he's no James, and it's clear that the return of the England international could spark meaningful change.
The defender missed large portions of Pochettino's reign with various setbacks, only starting five Premier League matches and being sent off twice.
But he's adept at using his power and physique to shuttle up the flank and wreak havoc with his fine array of passing and natural goalscoring sense.
Indeed, over the course of the 2021/21 campaign, as per FBref, James ranked among the top 2% of full-backs for goals scored, the top 1% for assists, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for passes attempted and the top 6% for progressive passes and successful take-ons per 90.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent's goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Matches (starts)
26 (22)
Goals
5
Assists
9
Clean sheets
5
Touches*
76.1
Pass completion
90%
Key passes*
1.9
Ball recoveries*
4.8
Tackles*
1.3
Ground duels won*
3.8 (61%)
He was at the peak of his powers and it goes to show what a player Chelsea have in their midst, his ability lying dormant and awaiting its deserved resurgence.
Look at the table above and you will see that James is a monstrous attacking force but so too is he a crunching defender, winning 61% of his ground duels – which is an impressive feat for a full-back, invariably pitted against lightning-fast wingers.
That defensive fortitude has been carried across his past two seasons too, even though he has been heavily affected by injury. In 2022/23, he won 66% of his ground battles, and then 64% last year.
It's frightening to think of the kind of player James could yet become, for he performs so well when available and is still only 24. Gusto was welcomed to London as the skipper's understudy but has played a far more hands-on role than was probably anticipated, and in fairness, he's looked impressive.
But the club skipper is still Chelsea's main man, and he must return to the starting line-up as soon as possible to ensure that Maresca's budding project hits the ascendency after the international break.
For now, fans wait with bated breath to hear of news of the right-backs' respective return dates, and while James must be handled with care, there are two weeks now where he can really work on returning to match fitness.
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