In the final part of our Q&A special with Chelsea reporter Nizaar Kinsella, we look at the Blues’ form and the impact of Estevao Willian.
Rob asked: Do you think Estevao Willian’s impact against Liverpool is likely to give him an opportunity as a regular starter in Cole Palmer’s absence?
Nizaar answered: Estevao will slowly earn more and more minutes at Chelsea. To be honest, at just 18, he can be quite happy with the chances he has been given already.
There is no doubting his ability but there are still improvements he needs to make physically and tactically to be trusted week in, week out. That ugly side of the game did not come naturally to Palmer either, but he is a brilliant all-round footballer now.
Those with long enough memories might be able to remember fair questions about Palmer’s defensive or pressing output in his first season under Mauricio Pochettino and, understandably, they are not strengths of Estevao either.
Sean asked: With as many red cards as we have had recently, it is hard to get a clear picture on our form at the moment. What do you make of Chelsea’s underlying form? Are we good, or are we a promising young team still too prone to individual mistakes?
Nizaar answered: I was a little worried about Chelsea’s performances going into the Brighton match at the end of September.
Yet, despite losing that game, I thought the Blues were excellent for 52 minutes and defeat came because of a poor reaction to having Trevoh Chalobah sent off.
They ground out a dull 1-0 home win over Benfica, then produced a heroic effort in challenging circumstances to beat Liverpool 2-1 before the international break. I would say those three matches show Chelsea are still progressing under manager Enzo Maresca and with these players.
If they win a few games after the break, people will talk about them as title contenders again, but I still see them as a little short of that absolute top level in the Premier League.
Scroll down this page to find the rest of Monday’s Q&A with Nizaar.
