Chelsea’s 4-0 thumping of Burnley last weekend extended the club’s impressive start to the new Premier League season, as the Blues enhanced their tally to 24 points. The victory also meant that their manager Maurizio Sarri became the first Blues boss to ever go unbeaten in his first 10 Premier League games at the helm (W7 D3).
Not bad.
The former Napoli boss has swiftly adapted to life in England. His players are thriving under the implementation of his Sarriball philosophy, along with the formation change to 4-3-3, and overall transformation into a more attacking unit. Eden Hazard is in sizzling form, Jorginho has been one of the signings of the summer, while Ross Barkley is blossoming under the new regime.
Sarri’s troops host London rivals Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and should the Italian avoid defeat he’ll equal a long-standing Premier League managerial record.
Only one manager in the whole of the Premier League era has ever gone unbeaten in their first 11 matches.
Step forward Frank Clark who is the first, and so far only, boss to begin their tenure undefeated after 11 games, having done so in charge of Nottingham Forest back at the start of the 1994/95 campaign.
So, should Chelsea avoid defeat to Roy Hodgson’s Palace this weekend, then Sarri will go level with Clark.
However, the man himself is focused solely on the match itself.
"I don't want to think about the record, we only have to think about the match and to gain points," said Sarri.
"The record is only a consequence of the result of the match. I have to send the message to my players that the match is the only thing that is important."
Meanwhile, only one Chelsea manager has ever gone 11 Premier Leagues matches unbeaten at the start of a season, with Jose Mourinho twice accomplishing this feat. The first time came in the second season of his first tenure (2005/06 - W10 D1 L0), which he repeated during the second season of his second stint at the helm (2014/15 - W9 D2 L0) - Chelsea went on to win the titles on both occasions.
