A blog of two halves

Positive signs create room for optimism

Fleetingly, Chelsea topped the new Premier League table on Saturday.

13 August 2018
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Chelsea players celebrate during Saturday’s satisfying 3-0 away win at Huddersfield. PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES

Fleetingly, Chelsea topped the new Premier League table after Saturday’s satisfying 3-0 away win at Huddersfield, but what was more pleasing was the way things clicked.

Morrie Sarri had played down prospects, saying that real synchronicity could be up to three months away.

But with N’Golo Kante knocking in a surprise opener, new boy Jorginho dribbling home a penalty and Pedro linking exquisitely with Eden Hazard for a third, it all looked rosy very quickly.

Playing with four at the back didn’t look nearly as cumbersome as it did at Wembley for the Community Shield.

Perhaps the Terriers weren’t the sternest of opponents, but they nearly drew level when Steve Mounie headed against a post with new keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga stranded.

Kepa’s clean sheet was, at the final whistle, almost as gratifying as the way Kante and Jorginho performed as a central midfield pairing – something that may be tested more in the London derby this weekend when Arsenal visit the Bridge.

“We are not at the top of our potential,” said Sarri with understatement after winning at the John Smith stadium.

The early form of Man City and Liverpool looks ominous, but while the Blues still can’t yet count on Alvaro Morata to be a scoring force, there is room for optimism.

If Chelsea are the Top Six underdogs, that suits Sarri, the supporters and, indeed, Roman Abramovich.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

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Tim Harrison

Tim is our Chelsea FC blogger.

Tim has been writing Chelsea match reports since the late 1980s for newspapers and, more recently, websites.

When he first reported on the Blues, the press box was a metal cage suspended over the lip of the old west stand - and you reached it via a precarious walkway over the heads of the fans.

But he has been a Chelsea fan since his father took an excited seven-year-old to watch Chelsea v Manchester United in the mid 1960s... and covered his ears every time the chanting got too ripe.

In July 2005 he wrote The Rough Guide to Chelsea, published by Penguin, which sold 15,000 copies.

His favourite player of all time is Charlie Cooke, the mazy winger who lit up Chelsea's left wing in the 60s and 70s.

When he isn't watching the Blues, Tim acts, paints, writes and researches local history.

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