Chelsea got off to a scary start on the road against Tottenham this Sunday afternoon in the biggest match of the Premier League weekend, as Marc Cucurella slipped twice to gift Spurs a 2-1 lead at the half.
But Chelsea would buckle down and dominate the second half, as Cole Palmer converted two penalties and the Blues would pick up a well-deserved 4-3 victory in juxtaposition to rivals Arsenal dropping points in their own pivotal battle, drawing 1-1 to Fulham.
Chelsea are now unequivocally the second-best team in the Premier League after clear leaders Liverpool, rising at the same time as Arsenal and Manchester City are falling.
And on Sunday against Tottenham, the star of the show was none other than Enzo Fernandez, who has come on incredibly strong in recent weeks and is starting to look every bit like the 100 million euro-plus signing he was for Chelsea in the winter 2023 transfer window.
Enzo bossed the midfield, making Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma look like mere traffic cones. He scored a goal of his own and provided two tackles and two interceptions defensively.
At no point did Tottenham look like any sort of a threat in midfield, as Enzo and Chelsea kept possession and kept their cool, controlling positions off the ball to prevent Spurs from countering their way back into the game in the second half.
Enzo has 11 tackles in his last 4 games since returning to the Chelsea starting lineup, adding a highly impressive 8 key passes in that time span to average 2 key passes per game.
On top of all that, the Argentinian international and reigning World Cup and Copa America winner has provided end product in droves with three goals and three assists in his last six games.
Under Enzo Maresca, Enzo Fernandez, like Moises Caicedo, has gone from high-priced bust to one of the elite midfielders in the Premier League, forming the greatest axis in the English top flight so far in the 2024/25 campaign.
Caicedo’s breakout was less surprising, since he had already proven himself in the Premier League with Brighton and rebounded strongly for his national team this past summer at Copa America.
Enzo, meanwhile, had serious question marks after a poor 2023/24 season, offseason controversy , transfer speculation, and no real track record of success in a top league.
Now, Fernandez is cooking with Maresca in charge, and his assured, well-rounded display in a big match and comeback victory for Chelsea is further assurance that his recent resurgence is a sign of further excellence to come.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.
