Fresh from their triumphant victory in the FIFA Club World Cup, and as recent champions of Europe, Chelsea`s natural next ambition is to claim the Premier League crown. However, a significant question looms large: can Enzo Maresca`s squad truly achieve the sustained consistency required to win England`s top-flight title?
According to defender Levi Colwill, securing major silverware is not merely a goal, but an ingrained expectation for any player donning the Chelsea shirt. After lifting the Club World Cup, Colwill underscored the club`s fundamental identity: “We`re a team, and that`s essential to Chelsea. We stick together through everything. Players like John Terry, Frank Lampard, and Didier Drogba established this ethos, and we are committed to continuing it.”
He further elaborated, “While those were incredible players who achieved immense success, our current squad also boasts top talent, particularly young players. Our ambition is to secure the biggest trophies for Chelsea, and we genuinely believe we are fully capable. Our commanding 3-0 victory against PSG, a team many considered the world`s best, clearly demonstrated our potential.”
It is entirely understandable for a long-standing academy product like Colwill to feel such optimism about the future, especially in the glow of Chelsea`s impressive performance against PSG. This display was arguably their finest since securing their place in the Club World Cup by winning the 2020-21 Champions League. Enzo Maresca`s strategic plan was executed flawlessly, with his players exhibiting aggression, organization, and fearlessness. Sustaining such a high level of performance across a demanding 38-game Premier League season would undoubtedly elevate them into genuine title contention.
However, this highlights their core challenge. Chelsea rarely reached that elite performance standard with frequency during Maresca`s inaugural season. This inconsistency led them to finish 15 points behind Liverpool, scrapping for a top-five berth even as early-season talks of title contention were suppressed by their manager. The final Premier League table offered a more accurate reflection of their capabilities than the fleeting optimism experienced in November and December, placing them safely in the third-to-fifth zone but a considerable distance from the title race.
Last season, Chelsea`s goal-scoring output was inadequate. And while their defensive record was commendable, ranking third-best in the league with 43 goals conceded, it needed to be significantly superior given that only 64 goals were scored at the other end. Their expected goal difference (xGD) of 21.16 was less than half of Liverpool`s and noticeably behind even an injury-plagued Arsenal.
The victory against PSG was all the more remarkable due to its atypical nature. Against the other top-four teams from last season, Chelsea recorded four losses, one draw, and just one victory – an impressive 3-1 triumph over a Liverpool side whose Premier League title was already secured. Despite enjoying two-thirds of possession, Luis Enrique`s European champions managed only 17 touches in the box, four fewer than Chelsea`s average top-flight opponent. A team that can occasionally be passive both with and without the ball, Chelsea snapped into action within the first 10 minutes, setting a decisive tone. Maresca`s men were brilliant – an uncharacteristic display for their season.
There is a risk that recent cup successes might present an overly grand narrative of Chelsea`s progress under Maresca. While they navigated the Club World Cup effectively, they also benefited from fortunate circumstances. Their path to the final seemed eased after Benfica unexpectedly eliminated Bayern Munich from their quarter-final tie. Subsequently, Al-Hilal and Fluminense cleared the route by overcoming Manchester City and Inter Milan respectively.
This perspective is not intended to diminish the excellence with which they defeated the European champions, nor the jubilation their supporters feel seeing that prestigious gold badge on their sponsor-free kits. However, Todd Boehly`s robust assessment of Chelsea`s Club World Cup campaign – “The boys have shown that they are a force to be reckoned with,” he told Talksport – must be balanced with the fact that their semifinal opponents, Fluminense, are rated by Opta as statistically similar to lower-tier European clubs like Coventry City and Elche.
So, does this success provide the necessary momentum? Possibly, but many are skeptical about how that will translate, especially considering the five weeks of rest and preparation before the 2025-26 season begins. While Chelsea undeniably appears to be an improved team from last season, benefiting from significant individual growth among its young players, their transfer business still raises pertinent questions.
Joao Pedro had a promising start stateside, but excluding penalties, he has managed only 10 goals from 58 Premier League appearances over the last two seasons, averaging 2.5 shots and 0.3 xG per 90 minutes. In comparison, Nicolas Jackson, now attracting interest from clubs like Manchester United and AC Milan, boasts 24 goals, 2.78 shots, and 0.55 xG. While swapping out Noni Madueke for Jamie Gittens offers Maresca another option on the left wing—a position Chelsea has historically struggled to fill—it`s difficult to shake the sense that the new signing`s remarkably impressive short-term trajectory in a less competitive league might merely see him perform at the level of the player he is replacing once he adapts to the tougher Premier League.
What makes Chelsea`s current approach particularly curious is the clear avenue for this team to become genuinely excellent, especially with the Club World Cup prize money burning a hole in their pocket. There is a distinct opportunity here to briefly deviate from their model of acquiring $70 million-ish youngsters with future potential, and instead invest more significantly to add immediate star quality. For instance, imagine if they replaced Jackson with a striker of Victor Osimhen`s caliber, acquired an elite-level center-back to anchor their defense, and secured a top-tier goalkeeper from the very upper echelon. Such moves would create a team that truly ticks every box.
After all, the future still looks incredibly bright for any team built around Moises Caicedo`s anchoring presence and Cole Palmer`s creative spark. Surrounding them are other fine constituent parts, including Reece James, Marc Cucurella, and Enzo Fernandez, to name just a few. Chelsea is not excessively far from at least entering the title conversation, even if it currently appears their recruitment department is not making the most optimal moves to propel them there.
Nevertheless, the sheer fact that Chelsea can convincingly dismantle a team like the champions of Europe, even if PSG seemed heavy-legged, provides a strong reason to believe in their underlying potential. However, to realistically aspire to be the best team in their homeland, the current world champions will need to consistently perform at this exceptional standard over a significantly longer period.
