Fulham, Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town may not be the opponents that Chelsea wants to compare, but early season statistics show that their defense has not yet created a gap with this group.
Chelsea have conceded 7 goals after 3 Premier League rounds. More worryingly, they have only kept a clean sheet 1 time in the last 19 matches in the league, since last season. This is a sign that coach Xabi Alonso has not yet found the necessary balance for the team.
Maxence Lacroix joined Chelsea from Crystal Palace for £52 million in the summer, while goalkeeper Martinez was brought in to replace Robert Sanchez. These additions partly help upgrade the defense, but The Blues still have to solve the problem that caused them to concede 52 goals last season.
My priority is to win and to do that, it is usually easier when you don't concede too many goals. We want to play better, tighter, more effectively and more balanced. But this also takes time" - Alonso said.
Wesley Fofana still has moments of distraction, including the situation leading to Martin Odegaard's goal in the defeat to Arsenal. Josh Acheampong is only 20 years old and still needs more time to accumulate experience, while Levi Colwill is finding his playing rhythm after a long break due to injury.
Martinez has also not fully met expectations. The Argentine goalkeeper let Kai Havertz score from the near corner, the type of goal that once caused Sanchez to be criticized. Since Sanchez lost his position, Chelsea has conceded 5 goals in 2 Premier League matches.
The midfield is also a problem. Moises Caicedo has only played 14 minutes since the beginning of the season due to injury, while Chelsea could not recruit Lamine Camara from Monaco at the end of the transfer window to add personnel after Enzo Fernandez left.
Alonso needs Caicedo to return, but does not want to take risks with the Ecuadorian midfielder. Caicedo was once brought on too early against Brighton and had to leave the field due to injury.
The problem is to assess the risk. Maybe last week we put him on the field too early and I don't want to make the same mistake again" - Alonso shared.
Colwill also had to sit on the bench against Arsenal due to fitness issues. Alonso did not want to use injury as a reason for the defeat, but admitted that Chelsea needed both Caicedo and Colwill.
Reece James has also not brought the certainty that Chelsea needs. Alonso once assessed that he could become one of the best midfielders in the world, but James made a mistake in the situation leading to Odegaard's goal.
Arsenal has only conceded 1 goal in the Premier League this season, while Man City conceded 2 goals. These are the opponents Chelsea needs to aim for, instead of Ipswich and Crystal Palace - two teams that are conceding more goals than Chelsea.
Chelsea has a strong attack with Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, but defensive ability is still a point to improve. If they want to compete with Arsenal and Man City, Alonso must quickly find a solution to this problem.
