DO THEY REALLY HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE TITLE CONTENDERS?

From the kings of Europe to Premier League champions – logic tells us such an achievement should happen in reverse order. But then this is Chelsea, where logic is often defied for so many reasons. If Thomas Tuchel follows up Champions League success by lifting the Premier League trophy next May, few will be surprised by the order in which his major moments were delivered. The question, of course, is: can he do it?

Standing in his way will be Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City side that Tuchel’s Chelsea beat three times in the space of six weeks last season: an FA Cup semi- final, a league clash and, saving the best until last, the Champions League final. However, they will also have to overcome themselves. Looking at the shortcomings of Tuchel’s team, it was one thing to defeat the likes of Real Madrid en route to sealing continental glory, but seemingly quite another to face Aston Villa on the final day of the season with a top- four place at stake… and lose convincingly.

That complacency, or arrogance – call it what you will – continues to be their Achilles’ heel. Last term, under Lampard and Tuchel, Chelsea lost to a misfiring Wolves, a soon- to- be- relegated West Bromwich Albion and a turgid Arsenal ( twice), and also dropped points at home to Southampton and Brighton.

Swing those particularly grim results in Chelsea’s favour, and the daunting 19- point gap to Manchester City turns to a more respectable three ( and that’s not taking into account a few other shoddy displays). The prevailing theory is that titles are won by beating your rivals. For Chelsea, who faced the rest of the top seven once apiece under Tuchel and took 16 points from those six fixtures, it’s about how they navigate meetings with teams further down the table.

There is no doubting the capabilities of the German’s squad – they’re European champions, after all. But the Champions League is a misnomer; it’s a cup competition, once you’re at the business end, and the Premier League is a different conundrum for this team to solve. Winning a division requires attitude and application, which haven’t always been Chelsea’s finest qualities in recent years.

A title challenge is a prerequisite for the Blues. They should benefit from a year of development following a hectic summer in which they spent some £ 200m on new talent. Now, they need consistency, if they are to twist the knife into Guardiola’s wounded side.