'We have Chelsea back' was the chant from the away team. Enzo Maresca's name was also praised. And these are not isolated moments. Chelsea is slowly but surely moving away from the crisis club and turning into a cohesive team that wins football matches on a consistent basis.
Their 5-1 draw against Southampton on Wednesday was just the latest in a string of positive results from one of the most entertaining sides in the Premier League this season. Their expected goals total (xG), not helped by Southampton's shaky defence, was the highest ever recorded by an away side in a top-flight match (5.29).
In all competitions, Chelsea scored 57 goals in 22 games, which is already seven more than in the 2022/2023 season. Their current goals-per-game ratio (2.6) is the best in a single campaign in their entire history. They even score better than leaders Liverpool, although playing in the weakest of the three European tournaments has helped.
Yet these figures are neither incidental nor coincidental.
This feels like the coming of age of a team that cried out for security and stability and has found a calm voice in Maresca combined with a firm hand.
Their early season form has meant they are now part of the conversation in the title race, level on 28 points with Arsenal, an idea unthinkable in the era of Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino. And the general upturn has also had a profound impact on individual performance.
Perhaps lost amid the noise of Cole Palmer's continued wonderment is the improvement of players who were so often criticized during previous regimes. Most thought Enzo Fernandez was a write-off, Moises Caicedo was similarly categorized, while frustrations over Nicolas Jackson's erratic finishing were overwhelming.
That has all changed. A fresh start and a clearer plan, with a consistent squad and a fixed 4-2-3-1 formation, has allowed everyone to thrive in a stable system. Jackson has turned expected goals into actual goals and certainly looks like a striker capable of winning the title. Fernandez is finally finding the pockets from which to create. Palmer floats with a beautiful freedom.
Then there is the revival of the bubble-blowing Christopher Nkunku, who has found the net in eight of his last nine starts and contributed 12 in total. Both goals and gimmicks. Confidence is skyrocketing and over-dependence on Palmer's work is a thing of the past.
The signs are positive, but – to temper expectations – a warning: Chelsea remains a team in transition. Defensive cracks are all too often hung with productivity at the top end, and winning games by outscoring opponents is not necessarily a sustainable science.
Squads dominated by youth and inexperience rarely win over an entire season and Maresca will be all too aware that tougher tests await, with Sunday's trip to London rivals Tottenham a better measure of where his team is on the scale of evolution.
Chelsea have made seven changes for the midweek trip to St Mary's, the most since December 2022, with Maresca naming his oldest squad yet (24 years, 162 days). But that still remains the 14th youngest combination in terms of average age in the Premier League.
Such realities have strengths and weaknesses. Noni Madueke, another player who has progressed under Maresca's management, was left out of last weekend's 3-0 win over Aston Villa as his work rate in training was deemed not good enough.
“Noni can do a lot more,” Maresca said on Wednesday. “The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit. The reason why he didn't play is because I don't like the way he trained.”
This no-nonsense approach has challenged Chelsea's youngsters in a way that previous managers have not. Poor discipline has long been a problem: those who follow Chelsea with a keen eye will remember Madueke, Jackson and Palmer's pathetic little rows over a penalty against Everton in April. It is clear that such immaturity will not suit Maresca.
However, that Chelsea have somehow developed a ruthless lead in his 157 days in charge is quite remarkable. And now comes the real measure of the Italian's impact: seven games to end the calendar year, including two (three if you count Brentford) London derbies. Starting with Spurs.
Chelsea have won five of seven games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions, the most wins by a visiting side since Spurs moved there in 2019. And it is a competition that carries more weight than most other competitions.
If Chelsea really do develop into title contenders, now is the time to show it, not least because what Maresca misses most is a statement result against a rival challenger. So far they have lost to Man City and Liverpool, and drawn against Arsenal and Man Utd.
“We are not in the title race. In my opinion not,” Maresca said this week. Nothing if not pragmatic and he's probably right, but that doesn't stop the dreamers from dreaming. After all, the talent is there, and there is plenty to say about the structure and identity of Chelsea, which has been molded into a tighter mold and is seen as one of the freest-scoring sides in the league.
The second will satisfy for now. But could there be more to give?
Watch Tottenham vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday; starting at 4:30 PM
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