Chelsea should look ahead to the trip to Tottenham in 10 days with some concern. This is not only because Spurs are a dangerous side but also due to the fact that Chelsea have a worryingly poor record in recent matches immediately following international breaks.
Chelsea’s last six games on return from internationals have saw them take 10 points from 18 available.Last time out, the Blues returned from international duty to face Manchester United. Ross Barkley’s goal in the dying seconds could only salvage a point.
The time before that did result in Chelsea scoring a victory against lowly Cardiff. However, going back to last season, the Blues returned from two weeks of internationals to lose their long standing unbeaten record against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier that season, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea also lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. This was an awful defeat against a Palace team who had barely mustered a single point by October. Yet, they still beat the champions.
Of course, there are some wins in this statistic as well. Any team will always drop some points no matter whether they are playing after a club match or a set of international matches. So there is no need to panic too much.
However, Manchester City have a perfect record after their last six matches. In order to match the great City side, Chelsea need to aspire to the same level of consistency. A win against Tottenham would be a good start.