Can the Blues shrug Mudryk issues and go top? | OneFootball

The shocking news about winger Mykhailo Mudryk failing a doping test has dominated all the headlines around Chelsea in the last 48 hours, and today’s press conference was focused almost entirely on that.

It’s seen purely as a bad thing – firstly of course Mudryk won’t be available to play while we await the result of the B sample, and he will then likely face a ban if the sample shows the same as the A sample. Secondly, it’s creating a huge stink around Chelsea, just as things had turned a corner and started feeling positive.

But there’s another side to the argument – that by creating a distraction, it also creates a smoke-screen covering the team’s continued impressive ride. In recent weeks, the questions to Enzo Maresca have been the same after every win – are you in a title race? Why don’t you think you’re in a title race? How many more wins do you need before you’ll admit you’re in a title race?

According to the sports betting bookies, the fact is we’re already in a title race. We’re now second favourites for the league behind Liverpool, and after they dropped points at the weekend the odds trickled further in our favour. We expect that trend to continue, with or without Mudryk.

The team have proved repeatedly they can win without him already, and he’s barely played in the first team this season, even when fit. Plus the fixtures coming up look really juicy. Yes it’s the crazy Christmas period, and some points are guaranteed to be dropped. But the teams we face are about as soft a run as you can get in the Premier League at the moment: Everton, Fulham, Ipswich, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Wolves.

While the focus is on the doping scandal – and it’s a story that’s likely to really drag on given there will more tests, appeals, denials, meetings, precedents, more meetings and more appeals – Enzo Maresca’s team can keep stacking points and keep reeling in the Reds at the top of the table.

They face Tottenham away on Sunday. That game could truly go either way. But if Spurs do us a favour and beat them, we can end the weekend on top of the league.

But first things first – they’ve got to prove they’re not distracted by brushing aside Everton on Sunday. That puts us top, at least until Liverpool play, and puts the pressure on them properly for the first time this season.