Ex-Manchester United defenders Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville agree that Chelsea could pose the biggest threat to the Red Devils’ Premier League title ambitions. The club scored a masterstroke in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back ahead of the closure of the transfer window and the Portuguese forward has gotten off the mark, scoring two goals in his second Man Utd debut against Newcastle on the weekend. He also scored in their 2-1 loss to Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Old Trafford faithful have seen odds on their side winning the Premier League shorten on the back of Ronaldo’s arrival, with United now 6/1 to come out ahead of all chasers at the end of the campaign. Fans could keep track of all Premier League picks via a sports odds app from Oddstrader as the top teams in England’s top division battle it out for supremacy.
Manchester City remain the favourites for the league title at 6/5 but the Blues are right behind at 13/5 and do look primed to win the top flight for the first time since they claimed league glory under Antonio Conte in 2017.
The Champions League holders started their UCL campaign with a 1-0 win against Zenit St. Petersburg on Tuesday and will have a tough test coming up on the weekend, with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur set to host the clash at the new and improved White Hart Lane.
Chelsea are joint top-flight leaders at the moment, sharing the top spot with United as they are locked on points and goal difference. They haven’t conceded a single goal from open play in three games this season, only getting their goalline breached by a penalty after going down to 10 men vs. Liverpool last month.
The Blues have been a defensive rock since Thomas Tuchel took over in January and that they managed to hold on for a draw for 45 minutes with 10 men against Liverpool spoke volumes.
Management has addressed the main concerns, bringing in a world-class striker while making a key addition to the midfield. Romelu Lukaku is back at the club he supported as a boy and, this time, he’s the complete striker, having scored four goals in three appearances for the Stamford Bridge side.
Ferdinand, a television pundit who won a number of trophies with United, has conceded that the Blues are a concern given that they are scoring goals now while hardly letting any in.
“Chelsea are a concern if you’re trying to win the league. Any teams like Man United, Man City and Liverpool, will be looking at Chelsea and thinking: ‘They look strong, they look solid, they have weapons all over the pitch’,” he said on his Vibe with FIVE podcast on YouTube, per Football.london.
“One of the biggest factors is that they are so stingy, they do not concede goals now.
“They have the best clean sheet record since Tuchel took over, I think they have the best defensive record since he took over in terms of goals conceded.
“He’s making them a machine, that’s the only way I can explain it. They look like a team as well who can play ugly, they can be abysmal on the day and then Lukaku can go and get two goals.”
Neville, also a top TV pundit who was a star in the Man Utd defence, shared similar sentiments on his own Sky Sports podcast.
“I went home from Salford City to watch the Chelsea vs Villa game and Villa played well, they are a decent side,” Neville said on Sunday evening.
“But Chelsea are robotic, methodical. When they scored that first goal with Lukaku I just thought it was ominous.
“There is a feeling about Chelsea: clean sheets, the striker is scoring guaranteed, the players behind them and the midfield. They are going to be difficult to stop.
“The talk will all be about Pep Guardiola, Manchester City and Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United, but Chelsea, everybody knows they are serious, it was a real performance.”
Lukaku has been quite the difference-maker in his second stint with Chelsea. The Belgian scored twice against Aston Villa on Saturday and added another against Zenit on Tuesday, making the best of the only two chances that came his way. While he isn’t getting involved in many touches, Lukaku is quite clinical in front of goal.
He scored zero goals in 15 appearances for the Blues after signing for the club as an 18-year-old but, 10 years later, with a wealth of experience playing for Everton, Man Utd and Internazionale, he’s returned to the Bridge a near-finished product.
Lukaku credits his two seasons in Italy for his maturity as a striker and has revealed that it was Conte who turned him into a menacing physical presence who could bully defenders and play with his back to goal.
The Blues finally have a scorer in their ranks following their struggles in the department last term. As long as Lukaku Keeps scoring and the defence holds true, Tuchel’s Chelsea will be a hard side to beat this season.
