Yeah they are but honestly in that match they were lucky to get a penalty in the last minute and get a draw. Anyway they have been doing well lately and showing an intent to fight unlike earlier which is a very good sign considering the level of opponents they are about to face in next couple of weeks. Newcastle haven't been in form so must be a good sign for Chelsea here but Newcastle still are a very tough opponents. Secondly they will be facing them on their turf so that makes it further harder. Still I feel Chelsea will show us a good fight but its hard to say if they will be able to win by the final whistle.. It could go either way.
Mauricio Pochettino appears to have a future with Chelsea this season. Manchester City has been one of Chelsea's the most formidable opponents; they are widely regarded as a club that is capable of taking out the Blues. Watching Chelsea games this season has been the most entertaining I've seen so far, and they also happen to be the most thrilling contests, making the viewers relaxed and filled with tension, not knowing what the next step would be. Chelsea did not get a penalty by chance; rather, they addressed to the pressure that was placed on them.
When Pochettino joined Chelsea and he started working there, people were expecting to see good performance from this team because he fully rebuilt the whole team but even after spending a huge amount of money during the summer and making lots of changes, still Pochettino couldn't get good results he wanted to get in this team. I think Chelsea can never be a good competitor at the same level as Manchester City during this season with the current situation they have in Chelsea.
It's all need process. Cam you build rome in a day? Any team has its own difficult to be coached. I meant if we must also realize about how people will be doing many things to make their team perform better.
Xabi took a season to make its club perform as good as strongest team in the bundesliga while pochettino was only a half of season in chelsea. Give him more time. We can expect him to deliver soon. Didn't you watch the match between city vs chelsea. Both of clubs are equal.
The only problem owned by chelsea is the competency from the club. Chelsea is starting to show some improvements but the consistency remain the most important question owned by chelsea at this moment.
I expect this club to enter again in the title race next season. Chelsea needs only to finish at the top 4 this season. It will be a big achievement by pochettino. There's no need to have huge target at the first season in chelsea.
You can't compare pochettino which was less than a season in chelsea to the pep.