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The One Thing Stopping Chelsea From Being Title Challengers

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The One Thing Stopping Chelsea From Being Title Challengers

Another game, another red card. The tally is up to four now for the season and it's no one's surprise that Chelsea leads the rankings for the most dismissals this season. What turned out to be a prideful performance in the end from Maresca's men was made a lot more difficult when Moises Caicedo saw red late into the first half.

The Blues star midfielder could have little complaints, especially when the replays of the challenge seemed to get slower and slower to really emphasise the nature of the challenge.

Blue Hearts On The Line

We saw again today the physical, aggressive nature of this Chelsea side that had been absent in previous years and reflects on their strong start to the season. The midfield in particular asserted dominance and worked tirelessly to reduce the likes of Declan Rice to being a mere bystander, a far cry from the joys he has been so used to in recent weeks.

You know what you're going to get with Caicedo: a workhorse in the middle that would never shy away from a full-blooded challenge. Perhaps the Rice/Caicedo comparisons we have been tormented with all week long got to his head, as that show was over before we knew it. There was an outright winner in this debate; however, it was not who you would expect.

The winner of the Rice vs Caicedo match up pic.twitter.com/VYYZhiu6sl
— Johyan (@JohyanCruyff) November 30, 2025

A midfield masterclass on display today hosted by the Chelsea captain. Filling a gap previously occupied by a £115 million midfielder against the league leaders is no easy task, but James certainly made it look that way. England manager Thomas Tuchel is going to have a tough decision to make regarding where he sees best in the side for his former player but one thing for certain is that James must be in that Three Lions starting lineup for the World Cup next year.

Architect's Of Their Own Downfall

For a side that sits just six points off the league leaders, Chelsea will be kicking themselves for matches they have thrown away subsequent to poor discipline. The Robert Sanchez red card against Manchester United just five minutes in saw the game over as a spectacle and replaced by a good old training drill of attack versus defence.

Cole Palmer being substituted for a holding midfielder after 20 minutes said all you needed to know about Marseca's mindset for the remainder of the fixture, not to mention the two other attackers lasting no longer than seven minutes.

Maresca has subbed out his entire front three just 21 minutes into Chelsea 🆚 Man United 🤯🔄

6' - Estevao
7' - Neto
21' - Palmer pic.twitter.com/KUPdcvnvBG
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) September 20, 2025

Chelsea fell to a 2-1 loss that day and this theme was repeated in a later home fixture against Danny Welbeck's Brighton. The hosts found themselves ahead on this occasion, seemingly in control until an unforced error saw Trevoh Chalobah dismissed early into the second half. The Blues subsequently fell apart and two late goals meant that the points would be heading to the seaside to puncture another hole into Chelsea's hopes for a first league title since the 2016/17 season.

The other and only occasion where Chelsea saw red and managed to claim victory was away at Postecoglu's Nottingham Forest. Perhaps we shouldn't give this one too much merit, as Ange cemented a legacy that Forest fans will look back on for all the wrong reasons during his time with the club. The problem here clearly being that this fixture wasn't in his second year.

Title Hopes: A Dream or Reality?

It's hard to have sympathy for a side whose own worst enemy is themselves. However, that Chelsea performance today will give fans all the reasons they need to believe that their side is a genuine contender in a title race.

Arsenal looked a shadow of their recent selves and whilst 50% of the game was replaced by a conversation between James and referee Anthony Taylor, there are a lot of positives the home side can take ahead of Leeds away on Wednesday night. Do I think that Chelsea are in with a shot of the league? Yes, absolutely. With Cole Palmer set to return to the side and the Blues having a series of favourable fixtures to look ahead to, they can maintain the pressure on Arsenal, who are known to have succumbed to it in the past.

The two will have to battle it out all over again in February, a matchup that could be decisive for the fate of both sides, subject to their league form being maintained in the difficult months that lie ahead. After all, if Chelsea don't come out on top in the title battle, then cue the "Most red cards in a season, you'll never sing that" chants at The Bridge.