Are Chelsea REALLY title challengers? How new world champions compare to holders Liverpool, a strengthened Arsenal, and Pep Guardiola’s revamped Man City

At the beginning of June, if you were to ask a football fan who they think will be in the Premier League title race next season, almost every single one of them would mention three clubs, and three clubs only: Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City.

They were the trio that fought for league glory two seasons ago, and of course, they finished as the top three last campaign, albeit Arne Slot’s Reds romped to their 20th title by 10 points in front of the Gunners.

So, after big early moves in the transfer market from all three, most sane supporters – not that there are many that you see online these days – would predict the trio to go toe-to-toe-to-toe once more when the curtain is raised on the new campaign next month.

A month is a long time in football, though. Now things have changed.

The moment that Joao Pedro lobbed Gigi Donnarumma to put Chelsea three goals to the good against the supposed ‘best team in the world’ PSG, in the Club World Cup final, many realised that there may be a fourth contender in the mix.

The new champions of the world may be a young, vibrant team that has a lot to learn, but they are a side stacked with endless talent who can beat anybody on their day. Why can’t they challenge for the Premier League title next season?

After all, nobody expected them to demolish a team who had just put four past Real Madrid in the semi-final, and who battered Inter Milan in record-breaking fashion to secure their first Champions League title in May.

Cole Palmer stated that Enzo Maresca was ‘building something special’ after the scintillating display at the MetLife Stadium, and it’s hard to disagree. So, we at Mail Sport are going to see how Chelsea stack up against last season’s Premier League top three.

Goalkeeper

Let’s dive straight into the deep end. If Chelsea could change one position that would give them a better chance at challenging for the Premier League title, it would be the one between the sticks.

Robert Sanchez put in a superb performance against PSG, despite bucket loads of criticism over the past year, with his sensational stop to deny Ousmane Dembele a certain goal showcasing that he can be a top shot-stopper on his day.

But that’s what he is… a shot-stopper. Nothing more. These days, that’s not enough; you have to be the full package.

Liverpool have Alisson, who many would argue is the best goalkeeper in the world. He can ping a pass over the top of a defence to send Mohamed Salah through on goal, while he also endlessly produces incomprehensible saves in one-on-one situations.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have David Raya, who is a modern-day keeper personified. He can sweep, he can spray balls all over the park, and he seems to make crucial saves with every passing match.

Then of course, Manchester City have Ederson. The Brazilian may have had his fair share of criticism in recent seasons, but he is still very much one of the best in the business. Pep Guardiola could easily slot him into the midfield, and he wouldn’t necessarily look out of place; that’s how good he is with his feet.

Do you see the theme? The best goalkeepers in the Premier League are all brilliant with the ball at their feet – Robert Sanchez is not. When the Spaniard recieves the ball under pressure, the majority of Stamford Bridge tenses up in anticipation that he is about to make a massive mistake. The fans don’t trust him.

So, while he came up trumps for Enzo Maresca at the MetLife, he is certainly the weakest of the four goalkeepers, and by some distance. Last season alone, he made five errors leading to goals; the most on record in a Premier League campaign since 2007-08.

That being said, Maresca continues to put his trust in the Spaniard and it seems increasingly unlikely that he will be replaced ahead of the new campaign.

Defence

Another weak spot for Chelsea is the defence, many would say.

As Blues fans will know, the key to a good title challenge is a tight ship at the back. The partnership between the two centre-backs and the goalkeeper is imperative to any title-winning team.

Jose Mourinho’s first side had John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and Petr Cech. I mean, they were a simply ridiculous trio, the best the league has ever seen. The record 15 goals conceded in the 2004-05 season will likely never be bettered.

In the Club World Cup final, Maresca started with Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah at the back. Both are talented young defenders, don’t get me wrong, as they proved by keeping a clean sheet against a particularly potent PSG attack, but they don’t scream a title-winning partnership.

They, of course, have Wesley Fofana, but he seems to have muscles made of cheesestring and can barely keep fit, while Tosin Adarabioyo is a good squad player, but not up to the level of the top defenders in the country. It’s not a department Chelsea have strength in depth in.

Compare that to Liverpool, who have Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as their starting pair. They were the two who set the solid foundation for Liverpool’s title triumph last season.

Van Dijk gets into any team in the world, even at 34 years old, while Konate, who has just a year left on his current deal, is one of the best young defenders in Europe, which is why Liverpool fans are so scared of losing him.

While many believe the Reds have the best defensive duo in the league, you could make a case for Arsenal’s William Saliba and Gabriel, who have been imperious at the back for the past three seasons.

They may not have a league title to their name, but their partnership has already become one of the best we have seen in the Premier League era.

And of course, Manchester City have a plethora of talented centre-backs. From Ruben Dias to Josko Gvardiol (who also does a brilliant job at left-back, and Manuel Akanji to Nathan Ake, their defence is stacked.

Their quality in that area also goes much deeper than Chelsea’s, with the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov regularly impressing when given the chance.

However, despite their weakness in the heart of the back four, the Blues arguably have the best left-back in the league, Marc Cucurella.

Many may think that is a bold statement, but the Spaniard was superb for the Blues last campaign, even coming up with the goods going forward, too. Although Maresca should get cover for the 26-year-old, who notched up over 5,000 minutes last season (which includes the Club World Cup).

Midfield

OK, now we are talking. Chelsea have taken a bit of a beating in the first two areas of the pitch, but now it’s time to heap praise on their strongest department: the midfield.

The partnership of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez is among the best in the world; they marry together like peanut butter and jelly in a sandwich. Caicedo’s incredible work ethic and ability to break up play are the foundation for the Blues’ forward play (the peanut butter). At the same time, he has allowed Fernandez to thrive going forward, with the Argentine supplying style and sweetness through his eye-of-the-needle passing (the jam).

Now, that may sound like a lot of waffle and a weird way to explain how good they are, but who doesn’t like a peanut butter jelly sandwich? The same goes for Caicedo and Fernandez, you simply can’t ignore just how brilliant they have been; the platform for Chelsea’s success.

Just look at how they pressed PSG’s midfield out of the game. We haven’t seen anybody do that; it was quite remarkable. As Gareth Bale said on DAZN, ‘PSG have been PSG’d.’

Don’t forget, Enzo Maresca also has the extremely talented Romeo Lavia at his disposal, while he is also utilising Reece James’ passing ability and strength to help anchor the midfield, something he used to do in his loan days at Wigan.

Now, are they the best in the league?

Many would say yes, but it’s also hard to look past Liverpool’s midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Alister, and Dominik Szoboszlai, who were the beating heart of the club’s title triumph.

And now Slot has added the £116.5m Florian Wirtz to the mix. Not bad, am I right? With those four in red, in addition to the likes of Curtis Jones, you’d have to say that the Reds have stronger depth in the midfield department.

Chelsea’s starting midfield, if all fit, could be considered the strongest in the division, no doubt, alongside the Reds.

That’s not to say that Arsenal and Manchester City aren’t also solid in that department. The Gunners have Declan Rice, who many would argue was the best midfielder in the league last season, while City have the Ballon d’Or winner Rodri in their ranks and have just added the talented Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.

However, while Rodri was missing for most of the season, City’s midfield was fairly weak last campaign, getting overrun on countless occasions, which led to their collapse in the middle of the campaign.

I imagine Gunners fans reading this will feel hard done by, considering they have just added Martin Zubimendi to their ranks, one of the best holding midfielders in the world. However, it is yet to be seen how he will gel with Rice, which is why Chelsea have the edge over them, for now.

Attack

Last season, Mikel Arteta called Chelsea the ‘best attacking team in the league’. High praise, and partly justified.

With Cole Palmer firing on all cylinders, the Blues were banging in the goals and ripping teams apart for the first six months of the 2024-25 season. They were most certainly up there with Liverpool as the league’s most frightening going forward.

On Sunday, they showed their potential again. With Palmer stealing the show, ripping PSG to shreds with his quick thinking and silky smooth skills, and Joao Pedro’s ability to open the pitch and provide the finishing touch, they showcased that they are a force to be reckoned with.

The players Maresca has at his disposal in forward areas are quite ridiculous. Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson are also options up top, while Pedro Neto is nailed down as the Blues’ starting left winger. Don’t forget they have Jamie Gittens to add to the mix, too. Scary.

That being said, Liverpool, City, and Arsenal also have quite terrifying attacks.

The Reds have Mohamed Salah, who netted 29 league goals last season to win the Golden Boot, which is arguably enough to explain why they are the best going forward in the division.

Slot also has Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Federico Chiesa to call on. No wonder why they scored 86 goals in the league last term, the most by 14, and 20 more than Maresca’s Chelsea. As previously mentioned, they have added Wirtz to the squad, which will only make them stronger in attack.

Arsenal, however, while they finished second last season, could be considered blunt in attack in comparison to the Reds and the Blues.

Now, they do have Bukayo Saka, a world-class winger on his day, but they have relied too heavily on the 23-year-old in recent years to supply the goods. So, when he got injured last season, they fell apart up top.

Their lack of a 20-goal-per-season striker is also a problem. Kai Havertz was injured for the last three months of the season, but still finished as their top scorer in the league on just nine goals. That’s never going to be good enough to win the league.

If they do indeed sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, then maybe you could say their attack is on par with Chelsea’s, but for now, it’s most certainly not.

Then you have City. It’s hard to draw a real comparison to the rest because of Erling Haaland. At times, it feels as though he is City’s only real outlet. Yes, they have Omar Marmoush, but outside of him, it is rare to see attackers find the scoresheet.

Savinho and Jeremy Doku, while both skillful and good at building sustained attacks, do not contribute enough in front of goal, while Phil Foden looks to have lost his scoring touch after banging in 19 league goals just two seasons ago.

In terms of names and talent, City certainly have an attack that can drive them to the title, but is it better than Chelsea’s? I’m not so sure. It certainly isn’t on par with Liverpool’s.

At the top half of the pitch, Maresca’s side unquestionably have enough talent to drive them to a title. However, at the back is where they need to bring bodies in if they are to challenge the top three.

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