Romelu Lukaku was brought in as a goal solution up front but this did not necessarily make Chelsea dependent on the Belgian striker to score goals.
Chelsea will face Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, Saturday (25/9). This match became an important test for ‘The Blues’ after they appeared solid at the start of this season.
In the duel against Man City, Chelsea can be quite confident in referring to their goal distribution at the start of this season. From the five weeks that have been running, there have been 10 players who contributed goals for Chelsea.
Quoted from Opta, only Arsenal in the 2009/2010 season could have 10 goalscorers faster, when the Premier League game had only been running for four weeks.
Lukaku has indeed succeeded in proving himself as a valuable recruit with a score of three goals so far. But other players can also show off when Lukaku is not around.
This has been proven in the big match against Tottenham Hotspur last week. At that time Lukaku couldn’t score but Chelsea could win 3-0.
Chelsea’s goals were even born from defenders, namely Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante, and Antonio Rudiger.
The victory over Tottenham made the Blues mighty at the top of the standings with a value of 13 points. However, Kai Havertz and his friends still cannot be happy because Liverpool and Man Utd also collect the same points.
In contrast to ‘The Citizens’, the duel against Chelsea became an important determinant. If they lose, Riyad Mahrez and his friends will be six points behind in the Premier League title race when the competition has just ended its sixth week.
Meanwhile, Coach Pep Guardiola will face weeks of ‘Hell’. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach is scheduled to go through three difficult duels in eight days.
The Chelsea vs Man City match is very crucial for The Citizens and must be won in order to remain competitive in the hunt for the Premier League title.
Moreover, in the previous match Kevin De Bruyne and his friends were matched by Southampton 0-0.
Currently, Man City is in fifth place in the Premier League standings with a collection of 10 points, 5 points behind Chelsea, who is the leader of the standings.
However, against the Blues is not an easy matter for host Man City. Thomas Tuchel’s team is a solid team in all positions in the Premier League this season.
In addition to being diligent in scoring goals with 12 goals in 5 matches, Chelsea also has a tight defense after only conceding 1 goal.
Guardiola’s test against tough opponents this week doesn’t stop at Chelsea. Three days after against the Blues, Man City met Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in an away match in the second match of Group A of the Champions League.
In that match, Man City will face PSG’s ‘super team’ who are aiming for their first win after being held draw by Club Brugge in the previous match. PSG is also included as one of the candidates to win the Champions League this season.
PSG will be a difficult opponent because, Les Parisiens is considered to have a frightening attack line with the composition: Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe, who is known as the MNM trio.
Guardiola’s hellish week will end when Man City are hosted by Liverpool in another away match on matchday seven at Anfield, Sunday (3/9).
Liverpool itself has so far had a performance that is no less impressive than Chelsea. The Reds have the same points as the Blues, 10 points, and are now ranked second in the standings.
Two tough matches against Chelsea and Liverpool could determine Man City’s steps in the hunt for the Premier League title this season.
