Three matches without a victory. Eleven losses in the calendar year. Twenty-two consecutive Premier League fixtures without keeping a clean sheet. A 3-0 defeat away to Brentford in a West London derby that felt anything but local given the gap between the two teams.
This was not the showing of a Premier League title challenger. After what happened in that second half at the Gtech Community Stadium, Chelsea’s status as a real contender at the top of the table warrants serious examination or deeper analysis.
The wider context
Context is important, and it is only fair to consider it here. Chelsea began the season with seven summer signings in their starting lineup on Friday. Alonso is the fourth manager to lead the club in nine months. Moises Caicedo, arguably their most crucial defensive presence in midfield, is still unavailable. These are not excuses, but they are pertinent factors.
Gary Cahill provided a balanced view, saying, “It doesn’t happen overnight. I think with what you’re saying he will be judged in the next five, six, or seven weeks to get this right because you will have that time on the training ground, and then we should start to see his methods coming through.”
That grace period is fair. But it has its limits.
Are Chelsea still title contenders?
Based on current evidence, it is very hard to argue that they are.
Arsenal and Manchester City are at the top of the table with full points, displaying the kind of defensive resilience and collective discipline that title-winning teams require. Chelsea, in contrast, are without a win in three league games, conceding from set-pieces, being outmuscled in midfield, and showing a defensive frailty that opponents are already spotting and exploiting with worrying ease.
The talent is unquestionably there. The project under Alonso has real long-term potential. And the international break comes at a helpful time, as Colwill pointed out, noting that the squad has “a lot to work on” in the coming days.
But at this moment, Chelsea are not a title-challenging team. They are a team in the early phases of a rebuild, making the kinds of errors that title contenders simply cannot afford to make and making them repeatedly, in the same areas, against opponents they should be handling much more comfortably.
Friday’s result at Brentford was not a one-off. It was a reminder of exactly how much work remains ahead. As things stand, though, the Blues are still some way from being called title contenders.