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Following their exploits in the summer transfer window and bright start to the new Premier League season, in the earliest stages of this new campaign Liverpool seemed to be the only side credited with the potential to challenge Manchester City for the league title this time around. 

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Considering the state of the rest of the ‘big six’, this assumption wasn’t surprising and understandably went largely unchallenged.

Arsenal and Chelsea both changed managers in the summer and failed to even qualify for the Champions League last time out; Spurs didn’t sign a single player in the transfer window; Manchester United’s relationship with Jose Mourinho feels like it could explode, taking the Red Devils’ season with it, at any moment.

With all that taken into account, who else but Liverpool, who look to have recruited so well in the summer, could challenge City’s supremacy?

Now, however, five games into the campaign, a third horse looks to be forcing itself into the race. 

Despite a chaotic summer which saw them labour agonisingly over the appointment of Maurizio Sarri - and then lose their first choice goalkeeper to Real Madrid - Chelsea have a 100% record in the league so far.

Not only are the Blues winning, but they’re also playing the kind of attractive, attacking, possession-based football which hasn’t graced Stamford Bridge for some time. This dynamic, aggressive approach instilled by Sarri looks to be getting the best out of the club’s talisman, Eden Hazard.

The Belgium international has started the season in scintillating form, and already has five goals and two assists to his name. The 27-year-old isn’t the only one thriving under the new regime either; Pedro is playing as well as he ever has since joining the London club, whilst Willian and Olivier Giroud have both also made their fair share of vital contributions to the Blues’ cause.

Chelsea’s devastating attack is built upon a truly top class midfield contingent too. N’Golo Kante remains the Premier League’s outstanding defensive midfielder, whilst Mateo Kovacic - on loan from Real Madrid - has added real verve and creative dynamism to the centre of the park.

The key factor in Sarri’s successful Stamford Bridge revolution, though, has been the arrival of Jorginho, who followed the manager to the club from Napoli this summer.

The 26-year-old brings control to the midfield and allows Chelsea to dominate possession and territory and dictate the pace of the game. If Hazard is the roaring heart of this Chelsea side, Jorginho is the cool and calculating head.

What’s more, Sarri’s reversion to a back four has failed to curb Marcos Alonso’s attacking brilliance, ensuring that the Spaniard remains the most lethal full-back in the English top flight. As well as that, the new big-money goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, looks to have adapted to the Premier League well.

Perhaps most excitingly for Chelsea fans is the fact that there is clearly so much room for improvement in this team. Defensively, the Blues have been found wanting on more than one occasion already this season.

This vulnerability could be what defines their status as challengers rather than champions, but, given the miserable campaign they endured last time out, to even be thought of as challengers represents a remarkable rate of progression.

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Considering that Sarri didn’t even have an ideal pre-season with this squad, to have instigated such a successful overhaul in so brief a stint is very impressive. 

Another factor that cannot be overlooked when considering this Chelsea side’s prospects is that, despite their poor showing last season, this is a team of proven winners. Of the starting XI that Sarri fielded in the 4-1 demolition of Cardiff City last week, six were part of the group that won the title in 2016/17. The five that weren’t: Kepa, Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho, Kovacic and Giroud.

Between the front three of Pedro, Hazard and Giroud alone, they can boast a collective medal haul featuring ten league titles (between the Premier League, La Liga and Ligue 1), five FA Cup triumphs, three Champions League crowns and two World Cup winners’ medals.

This Chelsea squad is littered with stars who know how to win titles, and Sarri looks to have engineered a system that is coaxing the best out of these individuals. 

One thing that may count against the Blues this season is a lack of top class strength in depth. Against Cardiff, Sarri’s bench included the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley and Willy Caballero.

However, until the time arises that Chelsea’s squad depth proves to be their undoing, the club’s brilliant start to the season has to have seen them force their way into the title contention conversation.