After a lull last week for international matches, league play resumed. As the teams progress (or regress) in their campaigns, there are some telltale signs that are appearing. The transfer window is a blur, but the impact upon some of the teams is clear. Let’s take a closer look at two of those teams, with the understanding that it’s still early in the season.
Chelsea
Too often the EPL has obtained players from the Spanish La Liga with less than stellar results. Chelsea has proven to be the exception, however. Beating Swansea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge, they were again led by their striker Diego Costa, the former Atletico Madrid forward who scored three goals before being subbed out in the 72nd minute. In fact, although early in the season, Costa leads the EPL in scoring with 7 goals in just 4 matches, becoming only the second Chelsea player to score in each of the first four league matches.
He just makes scoring goals look so easy.
Next we look at Cesc Fabregas. It is fair to say that he played in the EPL for Arsenal in his early days, but has spent his last couple of years at Barcelona. At age 27, one would’ve thought he would play the rest of his career at home in Spain, but he has provided both leadership and assists for the Blues up front.
Also noteworthy is another former Atletico Madrid man, Felipe Luis, who has replaced Ashley Cole as the Blues’ left back. While his name is not mentioned as often as the front men for Chelsea, he has provided a solid level of play thus far in the season.
Lastly, we look at Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian international who had been on loan previously at Atletico Madrid. While Petr Cech has been the mainstay in goal for Chelsea, Mourinho made an unpopular decision and replaced Cech as the starter with Courtois. And with the 22 year-old signing a new five-year contract with Chelsea, expect to see him in goal in North London for years to come.
Grade: A-
Manchester United
No team has spent more in the transfer window for top notch players than The Red Devils. With the team earning record revenue and profits, the team has spent lavishly, purchasing players from various leagues in Europe. New Manager Louis Van Gaal has a list of new weapons, with players that include Radamel Falcao, Angel DiMaria, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera, and Daley Blind. Exiting are quality players such as Tom Cleverley, Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa, Danny Welbeck and Nani, who were either released or placed on loan but clearly not in Van Gaals’ plans.
While no one would challenge the quality of the newly acquired players, the real challenge is how to assimilate so many players into a team that has underperformed at this stage of the campaign. It will prove to be quite a feat to create solid team play from so many new players, but no one is writing off the Red Devils quite yet. This is a team that underperformed last year, sacking their manager and revamping their roster. Unless they provide some solid play as the season progresses, expect Manager Van Gaal to revamp their lineup yet again, this time benching some of their stalwarts like Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie. Manchester United pays their players well, but they demand results and will make whatever changes they deem necessary to rise to the top of the table.
Could Wayne Rooney’s tenure at Manchester United be coming to an end?
Grade: C
Manchester United might have spent a kings’ ransom in the transfer window, but it’s Chelsea who have been the most successful at this stage of the season.
