The acquisition of Romelu Lukaku and the manner of our Champions League triumph have heightened expectations at the Bridge this season, with some pundits labelling Chelsea as the title favourites. However, for Jorginho and Edouard Mendy, two players who will be central to any such success, the focus remains on the short term.
Only Manchester City have picked up more points than us in the league since Thomas Tuchel arrived in west London. Add in the way we got the better of Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Manchester City in big knockout games last season and it’s understandable why some have picked Tuchel’s charges to triumph over the 38-game campaign.
For such dreams to be realised, the players must stay grounded. That is Jorginho’s message ahead of a big London derby this afternoon.
‘We will work every day to try to get better and better,’ he said.
‘We have our targets, which is try to win game by game, and then we will see what happens. We will work hard for the league, and for the Carabao Cup, for the Champions League, for the FA Cup.
‘Of course, Chelsea deserve to be there fighting for that to happen, and we will definitely try everything and give everything so it does.’
Asked what chance Chelsea have of lifting the title, Mendy did not want to make a concrete prediction, but the goalkeeper who has been so impressive this season did underline what the key to any success will be.
‘The only thing I know is that this Chelsea team is ready for the Premier League, for the Champions League and for the cups,’ said Mendy.
‘We want to be at the top of the league at the end of the season and we will work hard to try and achieve that.’