EPL Review: Chelsea move into title conversation, Vardy’s still got it

Following every weekend of Premier League action, theScore examines the most important developments and biggest talking points to emerge from the slate of matches. Below, we dissect Matchweek 15 of the 2024-25 season.

Are Chelsea true title contenders?

The results say they are. Chelsea are second in the Premier League, just four points behind leaders Liverpool, and are well ahead of expectations. Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez are turning in match-winning performances, and the likes of Jadon Sancho and Nicolas Jackson are starting to nail down regular roles in the team. The trajectory of the club has crossed a key threshold, and it would be silly to deny it.

But Sunday’s 4-2 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur doesn’t suddenly make them title contenders. Liverpool have a game in hand, and Chelsea have a number of shortcomings to overcome.

Marc Cucurella slipped on the plays that led to Tottenham’s first two goals, and giveaways by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and defender Benoit Badiashile could’ve heaped misery on Chelsea when the tide was turning in Sunday’s London derby. The Blues also needed two penalties – which Spurs gift-wrapped in the most careless possible way – to ignite the comeback effort.

“Arsenal, (Manchester) City, and Liverpool probably don’t slide – like Cucurella did,” head coach Enzo Maresca said afterward. “To be serious, we are not ready. We are far from these teams, but we focus on (it) day by day and (are) trying to improve the team.”

Chelsea play an open and risky transition game, and as rewarding as it can be, it has its defects. Sometimes you see Moises Caicedo scrambling, and sometimes he lunges, and sometimes he gets away with a studs-up challenge, as he did Sunday. Chelsea’s game is built around moments, and they can go both ways. Chelsea have already committed five errors leading to goals – higher than any other top-five team and a clear sign that they still struggle to control matches. The majority of Chelsea’s wins have also come against teams in the bottom half of the table.

None of that is to say Chelsea can’t win the title. But there’s a lot to do before they can truly consider themselves a complete package.

Quick free-kicks 📝

Unsung coaching heroes

Besides players underperforming, there’s another big reason why teams like Newcastle, Manchester United, and Tottenham are struggling outside the top 10. The trio should be competing for places in Europe. Instead, they can barely string two wins together. While they’ve toiled, teams like Bournemouth, Brentford, and Fulham have stepped up, overachieving with squads that aren’t nearly as expensive. The difference comes down to coaching. Unlike the three high spenders, stability on the touchline has benefited Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Brentford’s Thomas Frank, and Fulham’s Marco Silva. Their innovations and impact aren’t talked about nearly enough. But after a weekend in which Brentford battered Newcastle, Bournemouth came from behind to beat Ipswich Town, and Fulham held title contenders Arsenal, it’s time to give credit where it’s due to the Premier League’s most underrated coaches.

Man United their own worst enemy

Ruben Amorim has a massive task on his hands to turn Manchester United around. He knows that. It’s going to take time and a lot of work. One thing he can’t legislate for, though, is basic errors from his players. A brutal giveaway inside his own half from Bruno Fernandes, together with some truly confounding goalkeeping by Andre Onana, gifted Nottingham Forest one goal Saturday. Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez simply watched on, as if frozen in time, as a looping Chris Wood header, moving almost in slow motion, nestled into the net for another. The latter stood up as the winner at Old Trafford, consigning Amorim to his second consecutive defeat. Getting the fallen club back to the top is going to be difficult enough for the Portuguese tactician. It’ll be downright impossible if his players keep torpedoing their own progress with the types of mistakes commonly seen in semi-pro leagues.

‘Season to suffer’

Manchester City didn’t lose this weekend. Considering how things have gone for much of the last month, that’s actually an improvement. It’s also a sad statement that reflects the reality at the club right now. Pep Guardiola admitted after Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace that this is Man City’s “season to suffer.” Whether this team is built for that remains to be seen. Most of these players have won everything already. Sure, they’ve had to battle extremely hard in previous seasons, fending off fierce title challengers and winning huge matches. But they’ve never had to deal with a soul-sapping rut like this. Even Guardiola himself isn’t sure if he and his squad are capable of digging themselves out of this hole. One thing that would help right off the bat: stop conceding early. Man City have given up a league-high seven goals in the first 15 minutes of matches this season. Always playing from behind isn’t a recipe for success.

Good luck, schedule-makers

By the Premier League’s own admission, compiling the annual fixture list is a “meticulous and painstaking process that lasts almost half a year.” One of the unintended byproducts of the current schedule, already loaded to the gills with matches, is the difficulty of rescheduling postponed games. With the top clubs seemingly in action every three days, finding a decent window to squeeze in an extra contest is no simple task. The Merseyside derby, called off Saturday due to Storm Darragh, will likely have to be shoehorned into a rare midweek opening somewhere after the jam-packed holiday slate. An already tricky test for Liverpool will be that little bit more challenging.

Star performer 🌟

Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Vardy is the definition of a talisman.

Leicester City’s season hasn’t gone to plan. However, Sunday’s come-from-behind draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, which followed an impressive win over West Ham, suggests momentum may finally be shifting in the Foxes’ favor. And it was all thanks to their trusted striker.

With the Foxes teetering toward a defeat, the 37-year-old turned back the clock with a vintage display in the closing stages that was reminiscent of the performances that helped Leicester City win a shock Premier League title almost a decade ago.

As he’s done so often over the years, Vardy brought the King Power Stadium to its feet after cutting Leicester’s deficit in half in the 86th minute. The confidence-booster led to bigger celebrations five minutes later after Vardy set up the equalizer to become the second-oldest player to score and assist in a Premier League match.

Ten years after Ruud van Nistelrooy watched Vardy break his revered Premier League scoring record, Leicester’s new coach is now relying on the revived veteran, who has six goals and three assists this season, to keep Leicester from dropping right back down to the Championship.

Best XI 😎

(Source: FotMob)

Highlight of the weekend 🎥

Bryan Mbeumo is having the season of his life. Through just 15 matches, the Brentford talisman has already matched his career high for goals in a Premier League campaign, registering his ninth tally in Saturday’s win over Newcastle. He did it in style, too, helping the Bees maintain their status as the best home team in the country.

Stat of the weekend 🔢

We’re still trying to figure out how, exactly, Andre Onana didn’t save this. Even the commentators, absolutely perplexed, thought there must have been a deflection to wrong-foot the goalkeeper. There was no deflection.

Social media moment 📱

If you swapped doppelgangers Jota Silva and Jack Grealish, would anybody at their respective clubs even notice?

Where we stand 👀

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