Chelsea`s fixtures for the month of September sandwiched the two international breaks. Antonio Conte was well aware at the start of the run of games, that to get through them unscathed would be no easy task.
It`s been a good month in terms of results though. First game of the month was away at Leicester City. Chelsea did well to complete a 2-1 victory with goals from Alvaro Morata and N`golo Kante on his return to the King Power Stadium.
Next up was a return to Champions League football having had a year out of European competition. It was not a game that was ever really going to test the Blues and Antonio Conte was able to introduce some of the squad players to the European stage. Chelsea beat Azerbaijan`s Qarabag comfortably 6-0. The goals came from all parts of the team, defender Cesar Azpilicueta, midfielders Tiemoue Bakayoko, Davide Zappacosta and Pedro, in attack Michy Batshuayi chipped in. The final goal came from Qarabag themselves courtesy of an own-goal
Back in the league, the next game was the visit of Arsenal to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea afforded Arsene Wenger`s side too much respect, from the start and Conte got his team selection all wrong. Although the Gunners put up more of a fight than they usually manage, the 0-0 draw was a disappointing result. The game was marred by the sending off of David Luiz for a reckless challenge towards the end of the game.
Another day and another competition. Nottingham Forest were the visitors to the Bridge in 3rd round of the Carabao Cup. Once again our Italian manager was able to rotate his squad. This time he looked at some of development squad to see how they were doing. Turns out they are doing fine. The game was won 5-1 and featured a hat-trick from Michy Batshuayi and a goal apiece for Kenedy and Charly Musonda, whose first senior goal was a delight as was his reaction. Definitely one for the future.
Back in the Premier League and a tricky trip to Stoke City`s Bet365 stadium, saw Conte revert back to his more familiar starting XI. Normally you can expect blood and thunder from Mark Hughes` team, but on this day, there was really nothing to shout too much about. In the end Chelsea won 4-0, with Alvaro Morata keen not to be outdone by his understudy Batshuayi, he proved he too does hat-tricks. Pedro added to his season`s total.
Back into Europe and Chelsea were faced with a trip to a team they have met up with quite often in recent Champions League tournaments. Atletico Madrid announced the day before the game that had agreed a deal to re-sign Chelsea`s want-away, now gone-away, striker Diego Costa from 1st January 2018.
The game itself had the potential to really test the resolve of the Chelsea team. To an extent, the game certainly tested Conte`s men, but they proved they were more than capable of dealing with anything the Spanish side were able to throw at them. Chelsea went a goal behind, against the run of play, to a penalty conceded by David Luiz.
Chelsea fought back in the second half and secured the win with a goal each for their two strikers. Alvaro Morata headed the teams level before Michy Batshuayi scored the winner in the 94th minute with the last kick of the game. It was one of Chelsea`s best ever results in Europe.
The final game of a long month, saw current Premier League Champions` elect Manchester City rock up at Stamford Bridge. Like the Arsenal game, Conte set his team up in a more negative way than usual and allowed City too much respect. Chelsea were outplayed in all areas and were chasing shadows for most of the match. Ex-Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne won the game with a fine goal.
Stats for the month
Played?7
Won?5
Draw?1
Lost?1
Goals For?19
Goals Against?4
Not a bad month really, certainly not when compared to one year ago. Last September`s fixtures, of which there were four resulted in just one win against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. It also saw two defeats against Liverpool and the now famous 3-0 loss at Arsenal. We all know what happened after that.
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