It’s important for Chelsea to keep the momentum going

Premier League leader Chelsea made sure it stayed atop the Premier League table with an emphatic victory over visiting Norwich City on Saturday. A 7-0 thumbing also saw Mason Mount scoring his first hat-trick with the Blues as his name was amongst the host of Cobham graduates on the scoresheet. The fixtures ahead for Thomas Tuchel’s side are relatively easy before the next international break, so fans will naturally be expecting comfortable outings each and every time.

The most significant thing Tuchel can do during this period is make sure his side can keep up the momentum. Complacency can change everything if Chelsea goes into a match expecting a cakewalk. This has—unfortunately—been the case around Stamford Bridge for years. Of course, there is also the matter of keeping things fresh in terms of player involvement, but Tuchel’s main focus should be his side’s momentum.

Chelsea needs to keep its momentum up following back-to-back victories

The Champions League group stage victory over Malmo saw the Blues lose both of their recognized strikers in Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner with leg injuries. Add to that Christian Pulisic—who is yet to recover from his injury suffered during the last international break—and Chelsea has a sticky situation on its hands. Further, Reece James and Hakim Ziyech have only just returned from their respective injuries recently.

Even though the Blues boast a deep squad, injuries can affect their momentum and rhythm. However, the players brought into the team stepping up will give Tuchel a big relief. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has taken his chance with both hands. Trevoh Chalobah has not shown any sign of inexperience in playing for Chelsea in the Premier League. Callum Hudson-Odoi will have also impressed Tuchel in the matches against Malmo and Norwich. Even Ross Barkley and Malang Sarr have proved to Tuchel that he can call them up to do the job. The pair was added very late to the team and has fit right in. The midweek match against Southampton in the Carabao Cup will be another chance for them to prove their worth. One player who is yet to make such an impact is Saul Niguez, who was brought on loan from Atletico Madrid. He will be eager to prove his worth after a decent substitute appearance last Wednesday in the Champions League.

Chelsea didn’t look at its best before the Malmo match when opponents experienced moments where it looked like they could score. The matches against Aston Villa, Southampton and Brentford could have gone against Chelsea, but like the potential championship contender they are, the Blues fought it through to come away with all three points. In between those fixtures though were disappointments against Juventus and Manchester City.

Consequently, it was important for Tuchel and his side to have that performance where they dominated from start to finish with plenty of goals. The fact that it was without Lukaku, Pulisic and Werner will give confidence to the ability of the rest of the squad. Tuchel has shown his exceptional man management skills since he arrived at the club in January. All they need is some luck to keep it going with most of the things going in their favor recently.

Straight away after the international break, it is Leicester City away before Chelsea hosts Manchester United and Juventus. If the Blues can keep up the scoring form they showed against Malmo and Norwich, the confidence and mood around the club will be positive when they return after the final international break of the year.