Chelsea further strengthened their title challenge with a 2-1 victory over Brentford that moved them to within two points of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League table.
Despite Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca telling reporters that his side are ‘not ready to compete for the title,’ the victory at Stamford Bridge was Chelsea’s fifth consecutive win in the league and they are currently the league’s most in-form side.
After several windows of splashing the cash, it seems that Maresca has finally found a formula for bringing the best out of the wealth of talent at his disposal.
Chelsea dominated Brentford with 62% possession and 26 goal attempts in a game that should have seen a more comfortable scoreline for the Blues.
Goals from Marc Cucurella and Nicolas Jackson ensured the three points stayed at Stamford Bridge but two of Todd Boehly’s signings in particular are grabbing the headlines for their sensational form this season.
Cole Palmer’s season in numbers
Cole Palmer has dazzled since his £40m move from Manchester City back in 2023. The Chelsea playmaker was named Premier League and PFA Young Player of the Year last season after telling GQ magazine that he ‘got persuaded to move to Chelsea’ and wasn’t expecting to leave his boyhood club Manchester City.
Since then, Palmer hasn’t looked back and after amassing 22 goals and 11 assists in his first season at Stamford Bridge, the England star has continued his fine form with 11 goals and six assists already this campaign.
The playmaker has already provided some magical moments in a Chelsea shirt this term, including scoring four first-half goals v Brighton and recently scoring a ‘Panenka’ style penalty against rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
However, it seems that it isn’t just the signing of Palmer that is starting to click at Chelsea and another midfielder in Maresca’s side may be just as big of a factor in Chelsea’s major upturn in form.
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How Enzo Fernandez is proving his price tag
It is fair to say that it has taken a while for midfielder Enzo Fernandez to prove why Chelsea paid £107m back in January 2023. It was only a few months ago that several Chelsea news outlets and fans were calling the Argentine midfielder a ‘waste of money.’
Yet, after a tricky start to the current campaign, Fernandez has now started to show why owner Boehly splashed the cash on the World Cup winner and the midfielder’s performances have been a key factor in driving Chelsea to within touching distance of the summit of the Premier League.
Fernandez has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season and already has 11 goal contributions with three goals and eight assists.
Whilst the importance of Palmer is clear for fans and pundits alike to see, Chelsea boss Maresca will have no doubt seen the growing influence of the Argentine midfielder on his side and the fact he is outperforming Palmer in a number of key metrics.
Fernandez has a higher percentage of shots on target than Palmer and has created almost one goal action per game in his appearances so far this season.
|
Enzo Fernandez v Cole Palmer season 24/25 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90) |
Fernandez |
Palmer |
|
Shots on target |
40% |
38.9% |
|
Pass completion |
82% |
74.5% |
|
Goal creating actions |
0.93 |
0.65 |
|
Touches |
820 |
798 |
|
Tackles won |
16 |
7 |
|
Aerial duels won |
16.7% |
0% |
|
Stats via FBref |
||
Chelsea are increasingly looking to play through the former Benfica man in midfield, with Fernandez having more touches than Palmer despite playing fewer minutes and having a higher pass completion than his colleague.
Defensively, Fernandez is outperforming Palmer in key areas too, having won nine more tackles and winning significantly more aerial duels.
Winning the Premier League requires special players to come to the fore and with Fernandez and Palmer, Chelsea certainly look to have two in-form talents at present.
Perhaps the Argentine could go on to usurp Palmer as Boehly’s best buy in the near future…
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Chelsea sealed a comfortable victory over Brentford on Sunday evening.
