Former England star Michael Owen feels Chelsea have become a ‘brutal’ team despite the fact they have one or two passengers in the side.
The Blues sit proudly at the top of the Premier League table, with 13 points from five games played. Only a 1-1 draw with Liverpool has spoilt a 100 per cent record. And the Reds and Manchester United have also garnered 13 points from their opening five fixtures.
Sunday’s 3-0 triumph over Tottenham was another excellent display by Thomas Tuchel’s men. And many pundits feel they are the side to beat this season.
Chelsea and Liverpool have an identical record, having scored 12 goals and conceded just one. Owen has been impressed with the European champions and feels they are operating like a well-oiled machine at present.
“If I could describe them in one way it would be: efficient,” he told Premier League Productions, per The Mirror. “They do not look like conceding a thing, they don’t look like scoring five or six goals. But they’re just brutal, ruthlessly efficient at the moment.”
Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Antonio Rudiger bagged the goals that downed Spurs on Sunday. It was expected to be a tough game for Tuchel’s side but they brushed aside their capital rivals with relative ease.
Romelu Lukaku failed to get on the score sheet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But the giant Belgium ace has notched four goals in five outings.
And Owen feels he has made a huge difference to the way the team plays. “They’ve got a centre-forward now [Lukaku], who you expect to cause danger every time he gets the ball, a focal point they can hit it to, they’ve got runners off him, they can cross the ball and expect him to be in there,” he added.
While Lukaku has hit the ground running, not every player in the Stamford Bridge ranks is shining. Timo Werner continues to struggle in front of goal and has yet to find the net in 2021-2022.
The Germany international scored just 12 times from 52 outings last season. Compatriot Kai Havertz has also had his critics since a big-money move to the club in September 2020.
He has revealed glimpses of his Bayer Leverkusen form but has not shown the consistency needed in the Premier League. Owen reckons the pair are not pulling their weight despite Chelsea’s early-season success.
“They’re actually carrying one or two players that aren’t really hitting it off; Werner’s not been a good signing as of yet, question marks about Havertz, he keeps playing him but I’m waiting to see him put in some really good performances,” he continued.
“So there’s still a couple of players you expect to see a bit more out of, but even without them they are just steamrolling.”
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