Despite being unable to rely on their star summer acquisition against Liverpool, Chelsea was still able to play well at home on the first day of the Premier League season.
After much discussion about the club’s transfer strategy during the window, it was newcomer Axel Disasi who shined in goal while Nicolas Jackson, a relatively unknown player, impressed in attack. Carney Chukwuemeka grew into proceedings having started as the No10 in an unorthodox formation.
On paper it looked to be an unexpected three-man Chelsea defence with Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez behind Chukwuemeka whilst Raheem Sterling and Jackson played up front together. During the second half that had certainly shifted with Ben Chilwell coming inside to make it a 4-3-3 with Levi Colwill at left-back.
As Chelsea took over the game following a nervy first 25 minutes, Chilwell nullified the threat of Trent Alexander-Arnold inside the field and Fernandez gained total control of proceedings. Without new France ace Christopher Nkunku there was still a little something missing from the final third.
Nkunku had been on fire during the tour of America, scoring twice and contributing to most of the positive attacking play under Pochettino across the flexible frontline.
When it was announced that he was set to miss what could be four months of the season with a knee injury, expectations for the team were tempered somewhat.
Chelsea summer signing Christopher Nkunku underwent knee surgery today and is likely to miss nearly four months, per @Matt_Law_DT
Damn 😕 pic.twitter.com/PlSzRPYizF
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 8, 2023
Now, with an impressive display against Liverpool without their main forward, Pochettino may well have found a way to keep up the positivity without Nkunku’s influence.
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The French international also missed a chunk of last season with RB Leipzig and was ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar on the eve of the tournament. He only played 25 league games but still surged to the top of the scoring charts, bagging 16 goals with six assists.
That is at least a positive for Chelsea, who will be hopeful of getting plenty out of their new recruit when he does return.
That could be as late as December or January but without European football his minutes should be well managed by the rigorous fitness team that Pochettino has in place.
For now, Nkunku is watching on from the sidelines. During the game he wasn’t at Stamford Bridge like his teammates Trevoh Chalobah or Armando Broja, he was at home watching the game on TV. In a message posted to his Instagram story, Nkunku wrote: “Come on @Chelseafc [blue heart emoji, bicep emoji]”
In the meantime, the 25-year-old will be hoping that he can get back to fitness as soon as possible to join the Chelsea project in full flow.
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