Premier League football is BACK!!
We had the traditional Charity Shield game on Sunday which saw Crystal Palace beat Liverpool on penalties, and that is the moment you know that PL football has returned.
The fixtures officially start this coming weekend, with Chelsea facing that same Palace side who beat Liverpool, at 2pm on Sunday afternoon UK time.
The real challenge starts next weekend. The long and grueling Premier League season against many low blocks and stubborn setups. Add the Champions League back into that mix as well now, and we will have a very tough season coming up. There will never be an ‘easy’ game for us to play, and we will need to step up across the entire season. It will be the big test that this squad needs now. We will truly see where we are at as a squad, as a manager in Enzo Maresca, and as a club in this project, come the end of this season.
We have had the most perfect preparation for the league starting again, at least in terms of results and performances. Fatigue could be a question after having just three weeks off before go time again after winning the Club World Cup. But winning that competition, playing so well in it, and winning our last two friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan with ease this weekend, has been the best possible prep for the PL starting again this weekend.
Chelsea breezed past both Bayer and AC Milan and player well in both games. The new signings look to be very much on point. The vibes are amazing. The fans are positive and feeling good. The manager looks full of confidence. The players look ready and full of quality. And it looks like a perfect time for Chelsea to continue the momentum of a perfect summer and take it into league games now.
If I am being picky then I can moan about Milan̢۪s goal and how we were cut through. But I̢۪m not going to be too picky for now at least. We scored four, we thrashed them, and we beat them with ease. I cannot hide my overall concerns about the defence and goalkeeper though Рwith some huge question marks there for me in general, but I can hold out hope that we still address that in the final weeks of the window.
But the overall feel is good and it̢۪s a perfect time to go into the season and continue these great performances.