Last month was a difficult one for Chelsea. Yes, it did finish the month winning four games out of six, but it lost two big games back-to-back. If the Blues do not pull up their socks soon, they might find themselves out of the title race soon. They managed to finish third in September, but the two toothless displays hurt their chances both in the Premier League and the Champions League.
This was by no means a weak month for the boys in blue. However, injuries and other setbacks caused them to finish the month on a weaker note. There were plenty of positives and plenty of individual performers who managed to impress the fans and the manager. The ending of the month may have been a bit worse than expected, but Thomas Tuchel is a perfectionist who will be able to come up with a solution to this slump. Tuchel won’t be the only one though. There were a number of players who put in good shifts over the last month and they helped out the team through their individual prowess.
Still, due to Chelsea’s previous performances, the Blues are still considered one of the favourites to win the league and even defend the Champions League. There were several players who put in world class performances last month. This piece will look at three of these players. These players were fundamental in the Blues’ victories over Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Zenit St. Petersburg and Villa again in the Carabao Cup. This means that the London side is in the third position in the league, second in the Champions League Group H and have also progressed into the Carabao Cup round of 16. Thus, without any further ado, here are the top three Chelsea players from September.
3. Kepa Arrizabalaga
One of the biggest improvements since Tuchel took over has been in the goalkeeping squad. Kepa Arrizabalaga was the world’s most expensive keeper, but also an error-prone individual who has just lost his confidence and his skills in his second season with the club. Frank Lampard could not help out the shot stopper and instead decided to bring in a new player from Rennes named Edouard Mendy. Mendy quickly became the No. 1 choice for the Blues and Arrizabalaga was shifted to the bench indefinitely. However, when Tuchel took over, he recognized the quality and potential of the Spaniard and decided to incorporate him into the team.
Last season, he was the FA Cup goalkeeper and this season, he has become the penalty king. He has been steadily improving away from the first team and he is the No. 1 choice for Tuchel in the penalty shootouts. Arrizabalaga proved his worth against Villarreal in the Super Cup tie and he has once again shown his true skill in the matches against Tottenham and Aston Villa. He was a key part of the victory in both of those matches and it is really unbelievable how much he has improved since last season. He has stopped making silly errors, he is much more confident and he has the ability to collect the ball from corners, even though he is not the tallest keeper around.
Arrizabalaga’s display against the Lily Whites was especially exceptional due to the number of times Chelsea’s derby rival pushed it in the first half. He also closed down Son Heung-min twice in a one-vs-one situation. Arrizabalaga was a real saviour for the Blues in the first half. Not only that, in the match against Villa in the League Cup, he was once again the penalty king for Chelsea. Supporters must recognize his growth as a player and a person.
2. Romelu Lukaku
This was not one of the best months for Romelu Lukaku, but he did as much as he could based on the amount of chances that came his way. Chelsea had a major problem in the midfield where it was not assertive enough and could not send many balls forward to the No. 9. However, he is a true striker who manages to get onto the scoresheet, one way or another. The Belgian started in five games last month against City, Spurs and Villa in the Premier League and against Juventus and Zenit in the Champions League. He managed to score three goals, which is not the best, but considering the limited chances he got, it is very respectable.
The 28-year-old showed great power and precision in his match against Villa. The Claret and Blues did get more shots away, but the Blues were the more clinical ones. Two goals from Lukaku were more than enough to put away Dean Smith’s side. The goals themselves were brilliant, as well. His first one came from a brilliant run after an exquisite pass by Mateo Kovacic. He managed to get past all the defenders, fake the man who was running alongside him and then sneak the ball into the back of the net. His second goal was even more impressive. After receiving the ball at the edge of the area, Lukaku was able to generate enough power to shoot the ball from a still position into the top of the net. This required immense power and precision, which he displayed to the perfection.
Apart from that, his goal against Zenit was also crucial for the Blues since it was the only goal of the night. Right now, he has gone three matches without scoring. The service into him has been abysmal though. Former coach Antonio Conte has shared some words of wisdom with Tuchel on how to get more out of Lukaku, fans will have to wait and see if those suggestions are implemented.
1. Mateo Kovacic
One of the most underrated and underappreciated players at Chelsea currently is Kovacic. This is because he plays in the middle of the field and his only job is to build up play and help out in the defense if the Blues are facing too much pressure. Players in such a central position do not often get the credit they deserve as they are not in front of the goal scoring or near the back of the field making the flashy blocks or tackles. He is right in the middle of the field, playing out the important passes to the attackers, who can then move onwards to create the attack.
Kovacic, however, has been more involved in the games recently and has made himself one of the most important players in the first team. His vision has been useful for the attackers many times and he managed to get two assists, along with a goal in the month of September. He would have gotten even more assists had it not been for a bit of poor finishing from Lukakau in the match against the Italians in the Champions League. Kovacic was also one of the more involved players against Man City and had a big chance to equalize, only for Ruben Diaz to stop the midfielder in the nick of time. His pass to Lukaku for the first goal against Villa was exquisite and he was also providing some serious passes with proper intent. Unfortunately, those passes could not be converted into goals.
The Croatian was arguably one of the best players for the London side and his contributions to the team are finally being noticed. He might not be the most dynamic player, but his ball awareness and game-sense have made him almost irreplaceable. Kovacic will surely keep his place for the upcoming matches and provide some more brilliant passes to attackers.
Do you agree with the list or do you think someone else deserved the recognition? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!