As the 2025-2026 Premier League season is approaching, the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is filled with optimism.
A summer of hard work was enhanced with the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 title. And Chelsea have entered the new campaign with a much more enthusiastic spirit than most of last season's gloomy period.
Of course, fans of The Blues know better than anyone that bringing in expensive attacking names like Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens or Liam Delap does not mean immediate success. However, there is still reason to believe that this time things will be different.
Chelsea ended last season with a series of 8 wins after 9 matches. This impressive record has been partly reinforced by a few victories in the Europa Conference League against weaker opponents. However, even if this factor is ruled out, their end-of-season form is still commendable.
The Blues have won five of their last six Premier League games and have lost just two of their last 12. This form shows that spectacular acceleration is not simply due to a cup tournament that they have been highly appreciated for from the beginning.
In the summer, Chelsea traveled to the US to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 - a tournament that few people actually believe they can win. Even the Opta supercomputer only ranked them as a fifth championship candidate before the tournament started.
When reaching the final, Chelsea were still rated much lower than the reigning Champions League champions Paris St-Germain. However, Enzo Maresca's side played confidently and effectively throughout the tournament, before exploding in the final with a convincing 3-0 win in New Jersey.
This was PSG's biggest defeat of the whole season, and only the second time they have conceded 3 goals in a match, after a 2-3 defeat to Aston Villa in the Champions League.
As a team that finished fourth in the Premier League last season, Chelsea clearly cannot be considered the best club on the planet. However, the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup championship has given them more confidence in their ability to unite as a team.
The US championship also strengthens confidence in the plan Maresca is building. Especially after impressive performances in the 2024-2025 season in the domestic arena.
That confidence could become a key factor as Chelsea enter the new season as title contenders in both the Premier League and Champions League.
"A year ago, we were still far ahead of the teams that dominated English football. But now, we are getting closer, and hopefully continue to improve, shorten the gap even more and compete for the championship.
When you are at Chelsea, the minimal goal is always to win the game and win the title. We will try our best to do that" - Enzo Maresca affirmed.
