Chelsea are in second place in the Premier League and comfortably defeated Barcelona in the Champions League, but can they now be considered true contenders to win each competition?
Perhaps more importantly, do people within the club believe they can go all the way?
Enzo Maresca has overseen one of the most stable, successful and promising tenures since Todd Boley’s consortium took over in 2022, and it could very well lead to even greater expectations in the future.
Sky Sports News’ chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekor answers some key questions about the views from inside Chelsea ahead of a potentially season-defining clash with Arsenal, and also answers exactly why prodigy Estevao chose Stamford Bridge over several other European powerhouses.
Was Chelsea’s win against Barcelona a sign they could qualify for the Premier League and Champions League?
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Steve Sidwell says Chelsea’s Champions League win over Barcelona at Stamford Bridge was sensational
Chelsea have zero expectations of winning the title this season. They believe Arsenal and Manchester City are the favorites.
They are building a team not just for this season, but for the next five to 10 years.
No one at Chelsea will be crazy about beating Barcelona. Winning the title is not considered a realistic goal this season. It’s a good thing for Chelsea that no one is hinting at winning the Premier League or the Champions League this season.
This gives you more time and space to build for the future. They don’t want to be Estevao FC or Cole Palmer FC. They want to build a team with six or seven players as good as Estebao and Palmer.
Their title credentials will be tested against Arsenal on Sunday. A win at Stamford Bridge would be a huge statement of determination, but even if they close the gap to Arsenal to three points, they will need an incredible run to win their first title since 2017.
Arsenal deserve to be favorites, but defeats at home to Brighton and Sunderland this season show Chelsea are far from finished.
There is a similar story in Europe. Chelsea is building a team to win the European Cup, but success this season will come sooner than expected. Because anything can happen in knockout football, they consider themselves one of about 10 elite teams with a chance of winning the competition.
Last season, Paris Saint-Germain lost three times and finished 15th in their group, before winning the final in Munich. Chelsea may have looked like genuine favorites against Barcelona, but they looked far from such when they lost 3-1 to Munich in September.
Sunday, November 30th 4pm
4:30pm kickoff
What are the owners’ expectations for this season and have their expectations increased with recent results?
Chelsea surprised many by winning the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup in the summer and have been on a roll ever since.
Maresca’s goal last season was to get Chelsea into the Champions League and challenge for the trophy again. After some ups and downs, they finished fourth in both the Conference League and Club World Cup.
Chelsea are expected to build on this further this season, with a realistic aim being to finish in the top four again, perhaps just behind Arsenal and City.
Anything can happen in cup competitions and we hope to see improvement across the club.
They have ambitious but realistic owners who want them to succeed. No one will be satisfied until we win the title and the European Cup again. That’s not expected to happen this season, but that’s not necessarily the long-term goal. The goal is to make Chelsea one of the best clubs in the world within the next five to 10 years.
How much pressure has Maresca been under from the owners and fans at Chelsea?
Maresca is thought to have done a great job of rotating the squad and managing players this season after the Club World Cup in the summer. This season he has made 102 changes, carefully managing the workload of his players.
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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has responded to Wayne Rooney’s comments about Chelsea’s squad rotation, but says it is impossible to play with the same players every week.
Head coaches will not only be recognized for trophies, even though Maresca won two games last season, but also for the work they are doing to develop and improve their players, build their team and a winning culture.
Maresca is used to Chelsea fans not yet fully accepting him.
Perhaps it has something to do with following in Mauricio Pochettino’s footsteps after the 2023/24 season. Perhaps it has something to do with the style of play that has changed direction from the way Chelsea teams used to play.
His style caused some tension between Maresca and the fans at the beginning of the year, but his wild celebration after Estevao’s late winner against Liverpool in October marked a turning point in the relationship.
Maresca still has a way to go before he is as beloved as his predecessors, but he is definitely on the right track and his success at the Club World Cup and his extraordinary work should not be underestimated.
Estevao made headlines against Barça – why did he choose to join Chelsea?
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South American football expert Tim Vickery believes Chelsea’s Estevao is the most talented Brazilian since Neymar
A key part of Chelsea’s recruitment policy is to acquire the world’s best young players before they become superstars. These players have long, heavily incentivized contracts with low base salaries.
Estevao chose to join Chelsea because he believed in what the club had built. He wants to play in the Premier League and live in London and knew he would get the opportunity to play. Chelsea had been scouting him for three years and chose to sign him instead of Endrick.
The sale of Noni Madueke to Arsenal in the summer also meant he would receive more minutes. Estevao is considered a player who can play anywhere up front, including on the false nine.
Clubs such as Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were keeping an eye on Estevao, but it was Chelsea who wanted him the most. They were prepared to pay Palmeiras a deposit of £29m and agreed for him to remain at the Brazilian club until this summer.
Who is the next Estevao in the pipeline and who is responsible for finding and signing them?
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Kaveh Solgekor explains Chelsea’s transfer plans to sign young talent like Estevao
Chelsea’s football coaching team has been completely revamped since the new American owners took over in 2022. Chelsea currently have a team of five sporting directors, and one of their most important jobs is to ensure that Chelsea stay one step ahead of their rivals when it comes to signing tomorrow’s stars.
Sporting Lisbon winger Giovani Quenda, 18, will join this summer after Chelsea signed him in a deal worth up to £40 million in March.
Two 17-year-olds, Kairat Almaty forward Dastan Satpayev and Corinthians left-back Denner, are also due to arrive in London at the same time, along with Strasbourg striker Emmanuel Emega.
Dayner Ordonez, a 16-year-old Ecuadorian centre-back, will join from Independiente del Valle in January 2028.
