EPL hits and misses: Big-spending Chelsea still a work in progress as Son shines
In Chelsea's matchday programme ahead of Nottingham Forest's visit to Stamford Bridge, Mauricio Pochettino insisted he is "pleased with the progress" his new side is making. And after a slow start to his reign, consecutive wins over Luton and AFC Wimbledon suggested the Argentine had a point.
Those are hardly inspiring results, but there were small signs of encouragement in each fixture to give Pochettino optimism about the direction Chelsea are heading in. But Saturday's shock home defeat by Forest is a significant bump in the road and will clearly hurt the former Tottenham boss.
However, Pochettino's project will take time as he attempts to stamp his mark on a completely new squad full of young players. Chelsea's starting XI against Forest had an average age of 24.5, and there is nobody better than the 51-year-old to guide their development.
Pochettino will be confident of finding a winning formula and bringing his attractive style of football to Chelsea, but he won't be naive. After spending a record amount of money in the summer transfer window and already passing the £1bn mark under the ownership of Todd Boehly, he'll know the club's hierarchy will want to see clear improvements sooner rather than later.
Dan Sansom
Brennan Johnson has arguably been Nottingham Forest's most important player since they returned to the Premier League. His departure on Deadline Day was a significant blow, but Steve Cooper's side look stronger now than it did before the 22-year-old moved to Tottenham.
But the interesting thing about this? Not one of the seven signings Forest made on Deadline Day was named in Cooper's starting line-up as they stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Only full-back Nuno Tavares was eligible to make his debut in west
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