Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has remarkably ruled his team out of the 2024/25 Premier League title race, despite top spot being within their mathematical reach this weekend.
"I really don't think we can compete with [Manchester] City and Arsenal," said the Italian, ahead of Chelsea's home match with Nottingham Forest.
"We are not ready - and the reason is why I said many times. City is working with the same manager for nine years, Arsenal is working with the same manager five years.
"If you want to compete for important things, you need that time. You need it."
Maresca's men go into Matchweek 7 in fourth place, two points behind leaders Liverpool, with last season's champions and runners-up sandwiched in between.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
15 | +18 | 36 |
| 2 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
16 | +18 | 34 |
| 3 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
17 | +18 | 33 |
| 4 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
17 | +4 | 31 |
How Chelsea compare to Arsenal and City so far
While Maresca is correct in saying his length of tenure - four months - bears no comparison to those of Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola, there are plenty of statistics which put his new team at least on a par with their respective sides at this early stage of the season.
While all three teams have won four of their first six Premier League matches, Chelsea have scored more goals and created more big chances than both City and Arsenal, and boast a higher Expected Goals (xG) than the latter.
If their attacking stats are encouraging, it's in defence where Maresca's men have to make up some ground, having conceded more goals than the other two teams. And they are the only one of the three sides who have lost a game this season, to City in Matchweek 1.
| Premier League 2024/25 | Chelsea | Arsenal | Man City |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games played | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Games won | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Games drawn | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Goals scored | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| Goals conceded | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Clean sheets | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Big chances created | 21 | 20 | 16 |
| Total shots (inc. blocks) | 74 | 85 | 115 |
| Touches in opp. box | 147 | 225 | 280 |
| Expected goals (xG) | 12.20 | 10.26 | 12.37 |
Testing time ahead for Chelsea
Since that opening defeat to the champions, Chelsea have been blessed with a run of five fixtures against teams who are currently below the top eight.
However, their next five matches appear to present a more difficult period. By the end of it, we will have a better idea of whether Maresca was right to rule his side out of the running.
