Exquisite Chelsea!

Chelsea 4 - 0 Manchester United.

How Chelsea were going to handle this game was anybody’s guess as it was always going to be interesting to face Mourinho and his new team, but I’m almost certain nobody saw this coming.

That was simply the best performance Chelsea have put out in years.

There was a party atmosphere from 30 seconds in when Pedro nipped in for a brilliant opening goal and Manchester United were nowhere to be found for the rest of the match.

This 3-4-3 system has been paying dividends, but when coupled with the attitude the Blues had today, it looked unplayable. When N’Golo Kante manages to score, you know that something is going right. The biggest shame is that Diego Costa didn’t manage to get in on the action.

This game was rife with subplots with Mourinho vs. Conte on the sidelines, Pogba playing the team he could have joined, and Ibrahimovic vs. David Luiz as former PSG teammates clashed - this game had it all.

I didn’t know that Chelsea were going to thrash United so badly, but I did believe that they were going to fend off United’s attack, and they did brilliantly. Although United were nowhere to be found defensively, they gave Thibaut Courtois plenty of chances to prove he’s as worthy of praise as the four goalscorers were today. United were restricted to long shots and only got in behind the Chelsea back line once. Everyone seems to be working their socks off in training and Conte was working just as hard in the technical area, and his vocal chords working even harder.

It does give rise to the question of how much blame was to be placed on Mourinho for the malaise of last season as it is now his new team that are underachieving, having drawn their previous two Premier League matches. It does seem that there is something to be said about a team managed by a former player rather than a pure tactician. Not only is Conte a former player, but he also seems to be Chelsea’s biggest fan - stoking up the crowd and going maniacal for every goal. It’s his passion that’s so special to see from a fan’s point of view.

There was a distinct difference in approaches to the game by both teams, with United’s approach being distinctly indistinct. Chelsea were bossing possession, pressuring every player in Red, and working together in tight units that have become emblematic of the Conte era. They played like champions as a team and as individuals.

It was particularly satisfying to see Nemanja Matic overpower and outperform the once-fated-to-be-Blue Paul Pogba. I wonder if he’s regretting not making the move to Stamford Bridge after so much back and forth negotiating last summer. Matic got in the rhythm of things and even managed an assist for Eden Hazard, who was similarly brilliant.

I said earlier in the week that Chelsea’s biggest challenge was to continue the rich vein of form they found and they surely did that today. It’s important to not get carried away and I’m sure Antonio Conte will instill that into his players that they need to carry on as if they’ve got to fight for survival. That diligence and discipline is what got Chelsea the result today, and they had intelligence to close out the game with a clean sheet, and encouraged the olés.

A fantastic 4-0 result over an impressive United team coupled with a tribute to the late Matthew Harding makes today a good day to be a Blues fan.