Don’t listen to Enzo Maresca. Chelsea really is a Premier League challenger this season.
In a wild London derby, Chelsea conceded twice in the opening 11 minutes before recovering brilliantly for a 4-3 win at Tottenham to move four points behind Liverpool on Sunday. Cole Palmer sealed the comeback with an impudent "Panenka" penalty — one of his two converted spot kicks in the match.
Liverpool, the league leader, was inactive this round after a storm forced the postponement of the Merseyside derby against Everton on Saturday. It gave Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool's closest challengers, an opportunity to apply some pressure.
Chelsea did so. Arsenal couldn't, however, after only drawing 1-1 with Fulham, despite adding to its lengthy list of goals from corners.
Maresca has been insisting Chelsea's youthful squad shouldn't be considered a contender to win the league this season. His players are too young and inexperienced, he maintains.
Few will accept that now.
After an unprecedented spending spree on players of over $1.3 billion over the last five transfer windows, Chelsea finally has a consistent team — led by Palmer on the field and with impressive direction from Maresca off it.
The Blues' only losses in the league have been to Manchester City — in the opening round, way before the champion's recent meltdown — and Liverpool. They've won their last four league games, scoring 14 goals in the process.
Still, Chelsea's players were towing Maresca's line.
“We still have so much to improve on,” Chelsea defender Levi Colwill said. “Like the gaffer (boss) said, when we are ready to push for a title we won’t be 2-0 down in the first 10 (minutes). That’s the levels and that’s what we’re going to keep working on.”
Arsenal, meanwhile, is getting most of its goals from set pieces.
William Saliba — one of two scorers from corners in the 2-0 win over Manchester United on Wednesday — repeated the trick in the 52nd minute against Fulham to earn his team a point at Craven Cottage. Raul Jimenez put Fulham ahead in the 11th.
Arsenal trimmed the gap to Liverpool to six points but this will go down as a wasted opportunity.
Bukayo Saka had what looked like being a winning goal for Arsenal ruled out for offside against fellow winger Gabriel Martinelli in the buildup in the 88th.
PENALTY RECORD
Palmer has set a record by scoring each of the first 12 penalties he has taken in the Premier League.
According to the league's statistics supplier Opta, it's the best 100% record in the competition — overtaking former Man City midfielder Yaya Touré.
Since joining Chelsea in the summer of 2023, Palmer has 33 goals and 17 assists in 48 games. Only Erling Haaland for City (39 games), Andy Cole for Newcastle (43 games), and Mo Salah for Liverpool (46 games) have got to 50 goal involvements quicker.
LATE GOALS
Bournemouth and Leicester left it very late to pick up points from losing positions.
Jamie Vardy scored in the 86th and set up another goal for Bobby De Cordova-Reid in the first minute of stoppage time as Leicester staged a late recovery to draw 2-2 at home to Brighton in Ruud van Nistelrooy's second match in charge. He won his first, against West Ham, 3-1 on Tuesday.
Tariq Lamptey and Yankuba Minteh had given Brighton its two-goal cushion.
Bournemouth scored in the 87th, and again in the fifth minute of added-on time through Dango Ouattara, to win 2-1 at Ipswich, which stayed in the relegation zone with just one victory this season. Conor Chaplin put Ipswich ahead in the 21st.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer