Chelsea: The Unbelievable Turnaround
By Nick, Sports Editor
For Chelsea, last season was one to regret. Finishing 9th in the league, not winning any silverware and the sacking of their most successful manager in club history, Jose Mourinho.
The 2015/16 season truly was a shocker for Chelsea, especially as they were champions the season before, but this season, they came in with a new manager, new tactics, new players and most importantly, new belief.
The introduction of former world manager of the year, Antonio Conte and the £32million signing of Leicester midfielder Kanté, who won the league the previous season, shows that Chelsea wanted to bring the winning mentality as that was something they certainly lacked the season before.
Serious change was happening at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have been immaculate in the 2016/17 season and at time of writing, it seems almost impossible that they could give up the strong lead that they have at the top of the Premier League table.
One of the star players has to be Eden Hazard, who is showing an amazing change from last season, just like Chelsea itself. He has proven himself to be one of the most dangerous attacking threats in the league. This was shown when he scored an absolutely fabulous solo goal against Arsenal in early February, which was a sublime combination of pace, skill and strength.
Another one of Chelsea’s star players has definitely been the goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. He has pulled off some spectacular saves and is one of the main reasons why, at time of writing, Chelsea have the joint least goals conceded in the league. He has definitely confirmed himself to be in the top 3 goalkeepers in the world behind only Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer and Manchester United’s David de Gea.
Both of these players have been excellent this season but surely the player of the season for Chelsea has to be their new signing from Leicester City, N’Golo Kanté. He has been as solid as a rock in midfield for Chelsea this season. The thing that sets him apart from other midfielders has to be his work rate. He seems to be everywhere on the pitch where tackles need to be made and his market value has rose over £30 million since his time at the bridge and £63 million since he arrived in the Premier League 2 seasons ago.
The way Chelsea are playing right now, few would doubt them to be serious title contenders next season and perhaps even go for the Champions League.
What a turnaround that would be!