With Chelsea’s women scattered to far-flung destinations on international duties, the men are troubling the top of the table for the first time this season. And they have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with their 1-2 victory of Rennes this week.
Thanks to last weekend’s lunchtime kick-off, the Blues’ win at Newcastle was enough to put Frank Lampard’s boys ahead of the pack, at least for an hour or so.
The fact that the Premier League leadership has now switched a dozen times this season suggests this is going to be a bumpy ride. A third of the teams in the top tier have already occupied top spot.
Can Chelsea keep up the momentum? “We’re improving, but we can’t get carried away with ourselves at this early stage,” said Frank, keeping his feet on the ground as always.
What has made a difference in recent weeks is the performance of French keeper Eddie Mendy, spreading confidence to the defensive line as a result.
That and the dazzling lateral movements of Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech, which are giving Chelsea much-needed unpredictability in attack.
The morale-boosting goal at St James’ Park for Tammy Abraham keeps him sharp ahead of a real challenge this weekend.
It’s a clash of the titans when Chelsea host Jose Mourinho’s Spurs at the Bridge; a mouth-watering fixture at any time, but one with added layers of significance at present.
To paraphrase Bill Shankly, Chelsea v Spurs isn’t a matter of life or death... it’s far more important than that. Lampard has proved a thorn in his old mentor’s side often enough, and this game could yet have a significant bearing on the standings in May.
Like the men’s table, the Women’s Super League is also a real wrestle for supremacy. When Chelsea Women are back in action at Kingsmeadow on 6 December they will host a managerless West Ham after Matt Beard parted company with the Irons following a string of poor results.
It’s turning into a five-way battle for the women’s title, with United, Arsenal, Everton and Man City... with all teams drawing their last fixture.
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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