Chelsea 5-1 Chesterfield: The one with a CHO worldie and academy debut

Lewis Hall - a star was born

Chelsea cruised into the fourth round of the FA Cup following professional win over National League leaders Chesterfield at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. It took just six minutes for Timo Werner to get the Blues on the scoresheet - and from that moment forward, the match was only ever going to go one way.

Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle: The one that Timo Werner got back among the goals

Timo Werner scores his 10th goal of the season

100 days. 1000 minutes. And Timo Werner is back in the Premier League scoring saddle as it were. The startling numbers do make for a good bit of narrative, but like with most stats don't really give you the whole picture. In just about every match he has featured for Chelsea this season, the young German has proved he is more than just goals on the scoresheet. He is a force and it was great to see him rewarded for his efforts on Monday night. Hopefully now the never-ending questions about the drought can, you know, end. 

Hands up if you were feeling pessimistic and thought you 'knew what was coming'. All the results across the weekend fell very favourably for Chelsea. Newcastle haven't managed a win at Stamford Bridge in nearly nine years. Plus they would be without their loan goal scorer Callum Wilson. This had Monday night upset written all over it topped with a Joelinton masterclass.

Chelsea 4-0 Morecambe: The one where Kepa kept a clean sheet

Everyone needs Mason Mount in their lives 

When the lineups dropped on Saturday ahead of kick-off, the crazy once again erupted out of some of you. I'm not going to say it's the same ones who've been calling for Frank Lampard's head and think we should be winning the league with a new squad by Christmas. But probably those people. The issue this time appeared to be that youth had been abandoned for a strong team. How dare 'youngsters' not get a chance against League Two's Morecambe.

I'm going to let out a sigh and have a coffee and address how problematic this is - beyond clogging up my Twitter timeline with a bunch of whingers who will literally never be happy with Chelsea. And probably with life.

Chelsea 1-3 Man City: The one where reality set in

Kevin de Bruyne reminding Chelsea what could have been 

There had been more than a good chance that Chelsea's must-win crunch clash with Manchester City was going to be called off on Sunday afternoon. Six of City's first team along with a development squad player and staff members had all tested positive for Covid. Their previous match against Everton had been postponed while their training ground had been temporarily closed for a deep clean. As the match approached these positive results were revealed along with a breach in protocol from Benjamin Mendy. 

Chelsea 3-0 West Ham: The one before Christmas

Thiago Silva and Olivier Giroud getting better with age 

Despite not quite hitting the halfway point in the season for matches played, Christmas is always a good marker for assessing the season so far. While Chelsea are currently sat in fifth following the win over London rivals West Ham, they're just 2 points off of second. In a very strange season, that saw the influx of eight new players to bed in without any pre-season at all - it's a decent position.

Newcastle 0-2 Chelsea: The one where Chelsea went top of the league

Ben Chilwell celebrated on Fernandez' behalf

Twelve games unbeaten - as a defeat on penalties isn't really a defeat. Five consecutive wins. Just one goal conceded across the last seven matches. And to top it all off -- top of the league. Granted, come Monday morning the table will likely have changed a number of times. But not matter. In this moment, Frank Lampard's Chelsea sit top of the table and have finally found their feet.

Chelsea 4-1 Sheffield: The one that made a statement

The scene was set for a stumble. Bottom of the Premier League Sheffield United had not won a match since the last time they faced Chelsea. Inside ten minutes David McGoldrick had fired the Blades into the lead. The man has scored a total of four Premier League goals ever -- and three of them have come against the Blues. Cheers Arsenal for taking the edge off...

There was a sense of deja vu in the opening stages of this match. But with all those new faces buzzing about the pitch they weren't going to suffer the same fate as their teammates last season.

Chelsea 3-0 Rennes: The one that Edouard Mendy faced his former club

Did it surprise anyone else that this was the first time in ten years that Chelsea have kept five consecutive clean sheets? Ten years! I appreciate over the last 14 months, Chelsea have had their moments at the back. But it seems unfathomable that over the last decade the club have not put together a proper run of clean sheets.

Krasnodar 0-4 Chelsea: The one that a penalty taking star was born

Timo Werner summed up the match perfectly when he said 'it was not as easy as the result says in the end.' Four goals flattered Chelsea - but it's not how you get there, just as long as you do. After a long 248 minutes without scoring, I'll take four whether it was a true reflection of the performance or not. Especially after that little drought! 

Chelsea 3-3 Southampton: The one that went from Oktoberfest to quite a mess

Dominated possession. Struck early. Had the game under control. Individual costly errors. Points dropped. Sound familiar? It should. Not because it happened against a stubborn Southampton side, but because it just keeps happening again and again. In five of the last 10 games that Chelsea either drew or lost, they scored first. Failure to kill these sorts of games off will certainly keep them out of the title race, if not the top four if individual errors aren't quickly phased out.

Frank Lampard is still a very young manager in terms of experience. He has just two full seasons managing a club, and only one at Premier League level. There's going to be a learning curve. And with the pulling power he has with talent and the enthusiasm that he boosts both players and fans with, it's inconceivable that he won't be a success. But, it will take time. Patience is a virtue, unless you're a reactionary knob on Twitter.

Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea: The one Eric Dier needed a poo

Never has the feeling of peaked too soon felt more apt than it did on Tuesday night. Everything seemed to fall right. Tottenham were to have an important Europa League clash just two days after this and Jose Mourinho openly admitted it was his priority. While you can write off his words as 'mind games' when the lineups dropped - he backed himself. Spurs started without a recognised striker.

Inside twenty minutes Timo Werner solidified is growing cult status amongst the Chelsea faithful to open the scoring in a well-worked goal. With the way he's performed since arriving at Stamford Bridge it feels suprising that this was his first goal for the club. If only the final whistle could have just been blown then. Spoiler... it wasn't.

Chelsea 0-2 Liverpool: The one that Andreas Christensen saw red

You know when the team news drops and you see what should be a problem area for the opposition and you're feeling good. You think to yourself this is the one. If we can just exploit that 'weakness' it should all come together. And then it very much does not? That's exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool were to face Chelsea with just one recognised centre back. With Joe Gomez and Joel Matip unavailable Fabinho slotted in next to Virgil van Dijk. It was the the dream that quickly turned into a nightmare. Of course he turned into prime Fabio Cannavaro.

Brighton 1-3 Chelsea: The one with a lot of new faces

There's always something terribly exciting about the first game of a new season. It's not just a clean slate, an opportunity to put the sins of the previous season behind us. It's a moment of hope and re-connection. Most seasons there is a  brilliant first day of school vibe in the stands. Supporters who spend the season together shoulder to shoulder, sharing the highs and lows of every one of those 90 minutes get to see one another again. Often spending a summer apart there's a chance to catch up on one another's lives before quickly decompressing the transfers and expectations for the season ahead.

The start of this season was never going to be like any other. Fans are still relegated to watching behind a screen and will have to wait to see the familiar faces and the sounds that make the match going experience what it really is. Like much of the last six months, we will persevere and make the most of it - but football won't ever be quite the same until fans can watch together.