I have to admit I didn’t see this Chelsea surge coming.

Pre-season I belonged to the school of thought that believed the London club wouldn’t be genuine contenders for the title. This was based purely on my suspicion that Antonio Conte was going to need time to adapt to the English game.

But here we are, a couple of weeks before Christmas, and the Stamford Bridge team are looking formidable.

A change in tactics by Conte, combined with the excellent form of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, has seen them storm to the top of the table on the back of eight straight wins.

Last weekend they came from behind to beat Manchester City at the Etihad with a scintillating display of counter-attacking football. The 3-1 result may have flattered them a little as City weren’t that bad.

But comprehensively beating any of your title rivals (especially one managed by the world’s favourite manager) in their own back yard is never something to be underestimated.

Chelsea’s form has been helped not inconsiderably by the fact they don’t have any sort of European competition to distract them. Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and the two Manchester teams are all playing a lot more games than Conte’s team.

But even then, a lack of European games is no guarantee a team will take advantage of the additional breathing space. You only have to look at Liverpool’s domestic struggles in recent years to show that being out of Europe doesn’t automatically equate to a title challenge.

Of course, it is still far too early in the season to be drawing any serious conclusions from Chelsea’s current run. Arsenal are also putting in some excellent performances, Liverpool were looking quite sexy until the Bournemouth disaster, and City themselves have the players (and the manager?) to mount a proper challenge.

Then there is the small but relevant point of how Conte will cope with the festive season fixture frenzy. It will be quite a culture shock for a manager who is used to having a winter break to top up his tan and get his players’ batteries recharged.

I always thought the chaotic Christmas and New Year period, followed by the uncomfortably wet and chilly January schedule, could be Conte’s first-year downfall. And it still might be.

Equally, an injury to Hazard or Costa could change the whole balance of the team – and there is no better time for picking up injuries than winter.

But even taking all those things into consideration, there is still something about Chelsea that looks a little bit different. They have an air of solidity and consistency that I can’t see in any of the other challengers, even Arsenal.

Obviously, with more than half a season to go there is plenty of time for things to turn on their heads. Leicester City could suddenly remember they are champions and launch a proper title defence, for example. Or maybe Jose Mourinho will stop sulking and start managing his team.

Chelsea have an air of solidity and consistency that I can’t see in any of the other challengers

However, if Chelsea can come through the next five or six weeks unscathed and still lead the pack, they are going to take a lot of dislodging.

We could be looking at back-to-back Premier League wins for Italian managers. What odds on Walter Materazzi completing the hat trick?

Formula gone

Nico Rosberg is a sensible lad.

The Mercedes driver shocked the Formula 1 world last week by quitting the sport just days after winning his first world title. It was quite probably the most unexpected retirement in the history of motor racing.

But his reasons for doing so were so logical and clearly thought out that you cannot help but have total admiration for the man.

He set out in F1 with one ambition – to be champion of the world. After 25 years of hard work and devotion – he first started racing go-karts at the age of six – he achieved his goal.

Job done.

Of course, he could have hung around to try and defend his title but why continue to put himself through the stress and danger of one of the most physically and mentally demanding sports on the planet?

Well, there is the money aspect obviously. Quitting now means he is turning his back on a small fortune.

But Rosberg isn’t a poor man, he’s already a multi-millionaire. And, after weighing up the opportunity cost of continuing to race against getting his life back and enjoying his young family, he decided money wasn’t everything.

As sporting decisions go, this was one that took some courage. And he deserves maximum respect for it.

Fighting chance

Thank you to Eoin Doyle and Jermaine Beckford for providing the comedy highlight of last weekend’s football.

Yesterday week the two Preston North End strikers had a bit of a disagreement, with Beckford furious that Doyle didn’t play him in and instead passed to a different player who then missed the target.

The disagreement escalated into an argument and then a into a fight, and the referee was left with no choice but to send them both off, leaving Preston to play out the last few minutes of the match with nine men.

As it happened in the 90th minute it is highly unlikely it had any real bearing on the game that Preston lost 2-1 to Sheffield Wednesday.

However, that hasn’t stopped people calling for the players’ heads.

Personally, I don’t think what Doyle and Beckford did was entirely wrong. Fair enough, physically fighting is pretty stupid, but you want your strikers to be upset about chances being missed. You want them to show desire and commitment.

Give me that sort of passion any day over a player who knows he should have been given the ball but, when he isn’t, just shrugs his shoulders and wanders back to the half way line with disinterest.

Doyle and Beckford crossed a line, true. But at least they cared enough to be anywhere near it.

Meanwhile, credit to Preston who acted swiftly to compensate fans who had travelled to the game. They promised each and every one of them a refund of their match ticket.

And Doyle and Beckford will be paying for it from their fines. Fair enough.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade