Chelsea's defence has only been breached on six occasions thus far – and three of those goals were struck in our frustrating and disappointing defeat at the London Stadium to West Ham United.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has played his part; the Spaniard has kept three clean sheets, the most of any stopper in the division. Meanwhile, centre-backs Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill have been ever-presents.

‘We have good players, no?' Pochettino replied with a grin when asked about his side's defensive performance this term. Yet the Chelsea head coach was quick to stress the work done by every player, not just those in his backline.

'The defence is doing well but the whole team when we don’t have the ball is doing a fantastic job. The commitment is amazing. That is the start.

'If you want to be a good team and to challenge for big things, it is difficult if you are not solid in your defensive line.

'Look what happened here two years ago, Chelsea won the Champions League after not scoring too many goals but by not conceding. It is really important to have this feeling that we are difficult to beat and score against.'

It is testament to the work of Pochettino and his staff, in addition to the quality of those in the Chelsea squad, that this defensive solidity has been achieved despite a number of players being absent due to injury or suspension.

Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile have yet to feature this term. Club captain Reece James hasn't played since our opening weekend fixture against Liverpool. And both Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell missed Monday's victory at Fulham.

'It’s not easy but we've been working really hard from the beginning,' Pochettino explained. 'We are working on an offensive way to play but most important is to find the right balance.

'We arrived at a new team and with new players, so to set these principles, you need to start from scratch. You need to build the house from the foundations, then little by little you go forward.’