Chelsea beat the Farke out of Norwich City on Saturday

The early Saturday time-slot has not been kind to Chelsea in the last few seasons. Couple that with the fact that it had a plethora of injuries up top and the perfect recipe for disaster began being written. Nevertheless, the chef stepped away and if there was a time for the Blues to turn their luck around, it was this matchweek. Thomas Tuchel played host to an old pal in Daniel Farke as his side welcomed Norwich City to the capital. The Canaries walked into Stamford Bridge in last place in the Premier League as they faced the daunting task of taking points from the league leaders.

How did Chelsea respond when faced with adversity? Put it this way: it’s difficult to see Farke having a job at Norwich much longer. Despite earning promotion twice for the Canaries, heads should be rolling after that performance. It was an utterly dominant display from the Blues—and a toothless one from the visitors—as they earned the biggest win in the Premier League this season by any team, 7-0, over their unfortunate guests.

Chelsea tossed Norwich City aside with ease en route to its biggest Premier League margin of victory since the 2009/10 season

It was a record breaking showing from Chelsea. Tuchel’s men turned back the clock and paid homage to Carlo Ancelotti as the club won 7-0 in the league for the first time since Ancelotti’s squad did it against Stoke City over a decade ago. The Blues were scoring for fun to the point where their own supporters began to feel bad for Norwich. Seriously. This contest had it all though, so there was no shortage of entertainment. EPL bingo cards were surely filled out as this match featured an own goal, a red card, a penalty, a few goalazos and even Antonio Rudiger cooking a Norwich forward inside the Canaries’ own 18-yard box.

The win was as exciting as any in recent memory.

Chelsea has now turned into a juggernaut at both ends of the pitch. The thrashing of Norwich will be viewed as a bad day at the office for a horrendous excuse for a top flight side (which it certainly was) but it was more than that. This was the Blues announcing themselves as legitimate title contenders. It sounds odd to say such a thing following a win over the worst Premier League team in recent memory but it’s true. These are the games the Chelsea of old dropped points in: injuries up top, the early Saturday time slot and against a struggling side. Charity FC, as its come to be known, was nowhere to be found this weekend.

Tuchel has transformed this side into a disciplined machine. There is usually a criticism of a side following any win. After all, players are human beings, they aren’t perfect. However, even the most pessimistic individual on the planet couldn’t pick out something to gripe about on Saturday. The Blues picked up a much needed three points in fashionable style. There are a lot of decisive games elsewhere in England’s top flight this weekend. Chelsea can now kick its feet up after adding another seven goals to its already massive goal differential (+20 after just nine matches) and prepare for the EFL Cup midweek.

The European Champions put the Premier League on notice Saturday, they are coming for the title. It wasn’t just the scoreline that was impressive either. The determination of every player on the pitch, the hustle on display and the desire to keep going was unlike anything seen since the Liverpool match. The talent gap between these two sides was apparent but Chelsea also won on heart. This is a team transformed. There is something special about this squad and feelings of 2016/17 are beginning to find their way back into our souls. The Blues have depth galore and that’s perhaps the most impressive part of the beatdown of the Canaries. They did it without their two best goalscorers. Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi stepped into the spotlight in the absence of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, setting the stage ablaze on Saturday. The entire starting XI was flawless with Edouard Mendy once again able to vacation in goal. This is a complete side and one that, simply put, beat the Farke out of Norwich.

What did you make of the Blues’ stellar performance? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!