Maurizio Sarri has arrived at the second international break having experience very few bumps in the road as Chelsea manager.
After squeaking past Mol Vidi in the Europa League, Chelsea brushed passed Southampton 3-0 on Sunday.
And as Chelsea’s players jet off to link up with their national sides, I spoke to Luke Sheavyn to see what Chelsea fans are thinking.
On the Southampton game:
“St. Mary’s is a stadium that we have a great record at and it was another brilliant performance on Sunday. Although Southampton created some excellent chances, I thought we dominated the game from start to finish and that it was one of our best performances of the season.
“Eden Hazard was his usual brilliant self but I thought that Ross Barkley was also excellent and it is good to see him get back to the level that we know he can be.”
On the upcoming international break:
“It’s very good to see us go in to the international break joint-top of the Premier League. I think our play merits this.
“But, at the moment, I do not see us at genuine title contenders as I see us having a too thin squad and being far too reliant on Hazard, but at the moment there are a lot of signs that look like proving me wrong.”
On Mason Mount’s call-up to the England senior team:
“It’s good to see Mason Mount get a call-up to the England squad. Mount is a player that has flourished in his youth career and I do not think that his year in Holland with Vitesse should go unnoticed either.
“He dominated that league and won their Player of the Year award so it’s clear that he has bags of talent.
“It will be interesting to see if he gets any game time but I think the call-up shows the success of our often criticised loan system and the effect that Frank Lampard and Jody Morris are having at Derby County.”
On the lack of opportunities for other young players:
“I mentioned in my article a few weeks ago that I was hoping that the Europa League would be a base for our youngsters to gain some game time and I’m frustrated that this hasn’t happened.
“I understand that Maurizio Sarri is taking every competition seriously but it would be nice to see the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi start some games, otherwise I get the feeling that they might start looking elsewhere.”