On Monday night Chelsea must dress appropriately. Last season José Mourinho complained that some of his players did not sufficiently grasp the differing demands of the Premier League – they had, said the Portuguese in a memorable metaphor, a tendency to wear jeans to weddings and smoking jackets for a stroll in the park. Turf Moor this evening will be no place for sports casual.
Mourinho is confident that the changes that his club have made this summer mean his team will not look as ill-suited for purpose as they did on some such occasions last term. But Burnley will be hellbent on putting a dent in that confidence.
Sean Dyche’s newly promoted side, who lost just twice in 23 home Championship matches last season, will be propelled by the raucous encouragement of the majority of a 22,500 capacity crowd at Turf Moor, a compact, at times austere ground in which Chelsea will have to prove their fortitude to prevail. It is a trial that will evoke memories of the trip to Selhurst Park in March, when Chelsea were outfought and beaten by newly promoted Crystal Palace – that defeat, and other timid performances against well-drilled, skilled and hyper-motivated underdogs ultimately cost Mourinho’s men the title.
No one gained more points than Chelsea last season against teams in the top half of the table but the Stamford Bridge club were only sixth-best when it came to matches against teams in the bottom half. That is one of the shortcomings that Mourinho believes he has addressed in the summer as he seeks to avert a third successive season without a trophy.
Mourinho foresees his four major signings making a significant impact and congratulates his club for procuring Diego Costa, Cesc Fábregas, Didier Drogba and Filipe Luís while turning a profit in transfer fees thanks notably to the sales of David Luiz, Romelu Lukaku and Demba Ba. “The club did a fantastic job to get the funds to attack these targets,” says Mourinho. “The players that the club sold was unbelievable work and numbers that allowed us to buy players and make the team better and at the same time comply with financial fair play.”
Those four new arrivals have the experience and character to help Chelsea gut it out in games. More than just being battle-hardened, of course, each of those players offers better-honed skills. Costa is more dynamic and powerful than any of the strikers that Chelsea had last term and more adept at holding up the ball to bring team-mates into play. Fábregas has a keen eye for an incisive early pass and an instinct for contributing goals from midfield.
Filipe Luís is a natural left-footer who can attack and defend relentlessly while César Azpilicueta, who did an admirable job on the left last season, can do the same in his more familiar position on the right. Drogba offers aerial power, leadership and the promise of having an impact on tight matches when introduced.
In addition to those purchases, two returned loanees excite Mourinho: the 19-year-old Kurt Zouma offers extra cover at centre-back and, most of all, Thibaut Courtois, fresh, like Filipe Luís and Costa, from helping Atlético Madrid to win La Liga, looks ready to assume the position of Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper if Mourinho decides it is time for Petr Cech to take a back seat. That decision will be a difficult one to take – Mourinho says both goalkeepers belong in the top three in the world – but the Portuguese is delighted to have such a wealth of options.
“We have an improvement in the goalkeeper group and in defence also because we got Zouma and Filipe and that gives us balance,” says Mourinho as he explains why, unlike last term, he believes his team are genuine contenders for the title. “Filipe is a pure left-back which allows Azpilicueta to play on the right and [Branislav] Ivanovic can play in the centre, so that gives us more options. In midfield Cesc is the kind of player that we didn’t have.
“We had a box-to-box player, a runner, a stable player. We never had this kind of football brain so that has improved. Costa has the power, mobility and technical quality that improves the team. Didier is still a player with important qualities and he has a special feeling in the group to persuade people to work hard.”
Mourinho says that the composition of the side that he sends out at Burnley may not be exactly in keeping with what he considers his strongest XI because players who reached the latter stages of the World Cup are not yet as fit as others; but he does expect the team he names to show the attitude and inventiveness that will take them higher than last season.
Kick-off 8pm (Sky Sports 1, 7pm)