Going into the World Cup break, it was all doom and gloom around Chelsea.
The Blues had just lost their third Premier League game in a row against Newcastle United after another disjointed performance. Graham Potter, despite only being at the club a matter of months, was already having plenty of questions asked about him. Stamford Bridge wasn't a nice place to be. The atmosphere was a strange one.
However, as Chelsea returned to action on Tuesday evening against Bournemouth there was a sense of optimism. The supporters had missed club football after watching the dramatic World Cup exploits for the past month or so and Chelsea did not disappoint.
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The Blues were operating with a 4-3-3 formation, something we are not too used to seeing. But the way Potter's side started the game, it looked as if it was a system that had been used for years.
Chelsea raced to a two-goal lead at Stamford Bridge with superb goals from first Kai Havertz and then Mason Mount. Reece James picked up another injury in the second-half and his absence seemed to affect Chelsea, who didn't look anything like the side they were in the first period. But overall it was a strong display from the west Londoners.
It was much-improved from Chelsea, who are right at the start of a long-term project that Potter is leading. Going into 2023, the plan is clear for the Chelsea head coach.
"We want to keep improving, that's the simple answer," Potter replied when asked his main goal for 2023. "We've had a challenging time, some ups and downs in terms of the previous year. That's normal I think in any football club but we want to try and stabilise and improve.
"We want to make our supporters happy because we know the last few weeks before the break wasn't nice for us. Results suffered and performances weren't where we wanted them to be. So we have to do better than that."
2023 starts for Chelsea with a trip up to Nottingham to take on Forest in the Premier League. Steve Cooper's side are 19th in the table after coming up to the top-flight this season. It's a game Chelsea will come into as massive favourites.
It is, however, also a match that is easy to slip up in. Just ask Liverpool: the Reds were beaten 1-0 by Forest in late-October with the City Ground a cauldron of noise that day.
Chelsea will need to repeat the sort of attacking display they showed in the first-half against Bournemouth if they are to make it back-to-back league wins for the first time in over two months. There could, though, be a couple of changes to the line-up for the match in Nottingham.
Thiago Silva picked up a knock in the first-half against Bournemouth and was visibly limping on the pitch. It looked as if Trevoh Chalobah, who was sent out to warm up by Potter, was going to replace the Brazilian, but he was deemed fine to continue.
Silva, now 38-years-old, was pictured in the gym following the game wearing a bandage around his knee. Whether or not that was a precaution because of it being a recovery session remains to be seen, but the defender may not be risked against Forest. We could well see Chalobah return to the defence alongside Kalidou Koulibaly, with Wesley Fofana still sidelined through injury. Cesar Azpilicueta is expected to replace the injured James in the right-back spot, also.
There could also be a change in the midfield three – should Chelsea play the 4-3-3 again. Mateo Kovacic has recently returned to training after starring for Croatia as they claimed third-place in the recently-concluded World Cup.
Kovacic is usually one of the first names on the team sheet when fully fit, so depending on his condition, Potter could be tempted to throw him back in. That would be harsh, though, on Jorginho or Denis Zakaria, who were both impressive against Bournemouth in the week.
The front three were all good against the Cherries. Christian Pulisic showed glimpses of his ability, as did Raheem Sterling, while Havertz looked to be playing with plenty of freedom at Stamford Bridge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is waiting for a chance but he can't have too many arguments if it's not against Forest considering the performances of the attackers in the week. Hakim Ziyech has also returned from World Cup duty with Morocco recently and is in contention for a place in the squad at least.
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