EPL's meanest defence - How Pochettino made Chelsea's leaky backline watertight

Despite the largely underwhelming results in their start to the season, it is the underlying statistics that have reassured Chelsea chiefs they are on the right track.

And while they wait for their attacking output to catch up, Mauricio Pochettino can head into games safe in the knowledge that from a massively overhauled squad he has built a defensive unit that has become one of the Premier League’s meanest.

That is one area that has seen clear improvement under Pochettino, thanks to a number of factors including his tactical tweaks, successful recruiting and having defenders who relish their jobs and are prepared to cover for their team-mates.

Chelsea head to Burnley on Saturday having conceded the fewest goals per game — 0.78 — of all 20 Premier League clubs in all competitions.

They have conceded more than once in just one of their nine matches and Monday’s clean sheet at Fulham was their fourth this season. Only Arsenal and Newcastle, with five, have more.

Pochettino said: ‘The whole team, when we don’t have the ball is doing a fantastic job.

‘The commitment is amazing and I think that is the start. If you want to be a good team and challenge for big things, if you’re not solid, it’s difficult.

‘Look what happened here with Chelsea two or three years ago. They won the Champions League winning only 1-0, not scoring too many goals but not conceding.

‘It is really important to have this feeling that we are difficult to beat. We have been working really hard from the beginning, also in an offensive way to play, but the most important thing is to find the right balance.

‘You need to build the house from the foundations.’

The Fulham shutout was goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s third in seven league appearances.

His elevation from