The underlying numbers certainly suggest there’s plenty of reasons to be encouraged by Chelsea’s start to the season.
The Blues sit on a modest return of 11 points from their opening eight Premier League games, which leaves them 11th in the table. On top of that, they’re about to enter a very difficult run of fixtures post-international break.
However, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are playing some eye-catching football and perhaps deserve more points than they’ve collected so far.
The statistic of expected Goals (xG), which measures shot quality, is something which does give a good indicator of how teams are playing. Of course, you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net to accumulate points.
The Premier League’s official website has shared what the division table looks like so far this season solely based off xG.
Interestingly, Chelsea sit fourth in the xG table and inside a Champions League spot. The Blues supporters would dearly love to be seven places higher in the table.
You would think Chelsea’s attackers will need to be far more clinical in the months ahead to help the team climb the league.
We’ve seen the likes of Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk impress during the international break with their respective countries, so let’s hope they can carry some goalscoring form into their club performances.
In addition, Raheem Sterling was a huge goal threat in Chelsea’s 4-1 win against Burnley before the break.
A lot of eyes will be on Chelsea strikers Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson as they fight it out for the No 9 position. We’re more than happy for Pochettino to pick the centre-forward with more confidence in front of goal.
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