Chelsea's thrilling late win against Premier League giants chosen by fans as Best Match of the 2023/24 season
In an interview after the Premier League match against Brentford (h/t Manchester Evening News), Pep Guardiola went on record to say that Chelsea are currently the best team in the world. This statement was made after Brentford coach Thomas Frank labeled the Citizens as the best club in world football right now.
Thomas Tuchel guided the Blues to a UEFA Champions League last season and a UEFA Super Cup last year. Tuchel pulled one over his fellow counterpart by defeating Man City in the finals of UCL courtesy of a clinical finish by Kai Havertz, who was put through on goal by Mason Mount via an amazing through ball.
Manchester City have a huge lead at the top of the Premier League table at the moment. The blue side of Manchester seems invincible right now and their clinical attack coupled with a solid defence sees them top of the PL table. Whilst the Blues started the season in great form, they have capitulated in the last couple of months.
In the interview (h/t Manchester Evening News), Guardiola hinted at the fact that the finalists of the Club World Cup are currently the best teams in the world. It is believed that the Spaniard wrongly mentioned River Plate as South American champions as opposed to Palmeiras in his statement:
“We are not the best team in the world. The best team is Chelsea who won the European Cup, and River Plate.”
Whilst it is possible that the former Barcelona manager was trying to play a psychological game, one cannot deny that the Blues have progressed exceptionally as a club since Tuchel arrived. The 48-year-old manager replaced Frank Lampard and has clearly made us a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.
Chelsea, whilst struggling to maintain their form in the Premier League, have already reached the final of the EFL Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Despite injury issues and covid issues, the West Londoners also managed to get past Plymouth Argyle to seal their place into the next round of the FA Cup.
While there have been some issues upfront with the likes of Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku struggling to bang in the goals at a significant rate, the club has done well to create a solid defensive foundation with Tuchel’s preferred tactical formation of three defenders at the back. The Belgian international did manage to score against Al-Hilal in the semis and fans would be hoping that he can continue that run in the upcoming fixtures.
With all of that in mind, one could say that Chelsea are definitely amongst the elite European clubs right now- as we arguably have been for the past two decades. The FIFA Club World Cup would be the icing on the cake for Tuchel, who has won several coveted trophies during his time as manager.
As for Guardiola’s comments, they could be genuine, or they could just be a way to deflect the spotlight away from City. After all, they have beaten us by a 1-0 scoreline home and away in the Premier League this season. Nevertheless, the fact that he chose Chelsea over the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid goes to say a lot about the job that Tuchel has done at Stamford Bridge so far.
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