Why Chelsea are London's coming force

After a few years of turmoil, the Blues have finally got their act together again and are eyeing Arsenal at the summit.

- By Dom Smith

As the board went up for three added minutes, the Chelsea faithful taunted Barcelona one last time. Tuesday's Champions League clash was long over as a contest, the Blues 3-0 winners, but there was still fun to be had as fans jeered “olé” at every Chelsea pass, Barça pedestrians.

Chelsea fans had missed this feeling. Lately there is a sense of anticipation around Stamford Bridge. After a bumpy first few years under the Clearlake Capital-Todd Boehly ownership, where Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino and numerous players have come and gone, there is now renewed optimism of a return to the summit of European football and evidence the BlueCo project is working. Chelsea sit second in the Premier League and can cut that deficit to three points if they conquer leaders Arsenal on Sunday.

Chelsea do not yet appear ready to win the league, but they are no longer the basket-case club. Enzo Maresca's side have four wins and four clean-sheets from their past five games.

Unwanted asterisks cling to both trophies lifted last season. Winning the Conference League was par, and critics of their Club World Cup triumph cited its “glorified preseason” status to diminish the feat. But the way they battered Paris Saint-Germain in that final made rivals take note and gave a glimpse of what can be achieved if smart recruitment meets shrewd coaching.

Star man Cole Palmer is days away from returning to action after two months out injured. At Chelsea, progress is clear and life is good again.

Maresca’s evolution

At a club obsessed with planning for tomorrow, where splashing tens of millions on the next-but-one could-be wonderkid and handing out contracts to 2033 are commonplace, Maresca is their anchor to today.