Chelsea in a different league to rivals

Spanish international striker Diego Costa fired home the winner against Liverpool in a 2-1 win on Saturday

Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory at Liverpool in Saturday’s early kick-off.

The victory took the Blues seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table, until surprise package Southampton cut the gap to four points with a 2-0 victory over Leicester.

Controversy

The Blues may have enjoyed a hint of good fortune at Anfield yesterday, as England centre-back Gary Cahill appeared to get away with a handball in the penalty area.

The decision was not given, but in truth the side from London deserved to win the game.

Complete

Chelsea seems to be the complete team at the moment. They can play football, but they can also handle a physical battle when they need to. The defence has not been as tight as previous seasons, but that solidarity will return.

The more expensive style of play that Jose Mourinho has rolled out this season has come at a slight cost, which has seen them be slightly more open at the back. However, even being slightly less open the Blues are not likely to concede a huge amount of goals.

The Chelsea midfield is full of players that can provide inspiration, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Oscar and Eden Hazard pulling the strings in that midfield area. Not only do they provide creativity they also work hard, which Mourinho demands of his players.

In that Chelsea midfield there is also midfield enforcer Nemanja Matic. Questions were asked when Mourinho re-signed the Serbian international, but the former-Benfica star seems to be the perfect defensive midfielder.

He has forged a very effective central midfield partnership with Fabregas and looks like an inspired signing from Mourinho.

Spanish international striker Diego Costa found the net again in the win over Liverpool and his goal turned out to be the winner. The former-Atletico Madrid star has now scored ten Premier League goals since his summer arrival.

He inspired Atletico to their surprise La Liga title success last season and their Champions League run. He could do something similar at Stamford Bridge. The Brazilian-born star is a spikey character, who winds opponents up, but he is a predator supreme in front of goal.

Chelsea were just a quality striker short of winning the Premier League title last season. Costa looks to be the final piece of the Blues jigsaw and the Spain international is not even fully-fit at the moment.

The only concern for Chelsea is Costa’s fitness and the injury he is currently carrying. Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has left the striker out of his latest squad, so that the striker can rest his injury. That rest could just prove to be vital for Chelsea.

Rivals

Reigning champions Manchester City were supposedly Chelsea’s biggest title rivals for the Premier League crown this season. However, the Citizens are struggling to find any sort of form this season.

Striker Sergio Aguero rescued a 2-2 draw at bottom-of-table QPR yesterday with a brace. The champions currently find themselves eight points behind Chelsea in the Premier League table.

It is early in the season and there is still time for City to find form, but by the time they do it could be too late to get near the men from Stamford Bridge.

The only other team to have enjoyed the same sort of consistency in recent months as Chelsea is second place Southampton. The Saints have enjoyed a fantastic start to their Premier League campaign. Whether the Saints can maintain their outstanding form remains to be seen.

If they could it would be great for the Premier League, as the Saints have been a breath of fresh air for the Premier League this season. The rest of the so called big teams have struggled to find any consistency this season.

Favourites

Chelsea kicked the season off as favourites for the Premier League title with a lot of people. To say they are favourites for the title now would be an understatement. The Blues odds of 1/6 to win the title perfectly illustrate their current position in the table.

It is early in the season and as we have seen in previous campaigns teams have blown big leads at the top of the Premier League. However, at the moment Jose Mourinho’s men are showing no signs of a team that are willing to surrender that lead anytime soon.

Can anybody realistically challenge Chelsea for the title this season?