Are Chelsea actually good?! Enzo Maresca, Cole Palmer & Co. might just be cooking up something special at Stamford Bridge

In the early stages of this latest iteration of Chelsea's long-term project, the victory over West Ham perhaps offered the most compelling evidence yet of Maresca's tactical influence.

It was a performance that boasted all hallmarks of the Italian's style and philosophy, which are some of the main reasons he was brought on board; Chelsea built up patiently from the back with neat passing patterns and controlled the game from the outset with a foundation of defensive solidity.

Nicolas Jackson's second goal of the game was an excellent example, as the Blues calmly moved the ball from back to front via the middle of the park - with Marc Cucurella inverted as an auxiliary defensive midfielder - before West Ham's defence was sprung by an exquisite through ball from Moises Caicedo.

Granted, the Hammers were nowhere near their best and this was arguably the first time that things have properly clicked for Maresca and Chelsea despite some positive results elsewhere, but these were still hugely positive signs and, supporters will hope, just a taste of things to come.

A new, formidable centre-back partnership has quietly been formed at Stamford Bridge, providing the solidity that Chelsea's controlled displays have been built upon - another reason Maresca was hired.

Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana have caught the eye in the heart of defence following the latter's return from injury, with the former particularly impressive - ranking among the best centre-backs aged 21 or under in Europe's top five leagues so far this season in metrics such as progressive passing, interceptions and aerial duels.

Chelsea certainly needed some improvement in the defensive department, having conceded a club-record 63 times in the league in 2023-24, and having a settled, regular pair of central defenders following Thiago Silva's exit should certainly help.

Speaking about his partnership with Fofana, Colwill told TNT Sport recently: "We help each other a lot, we balance well. He's very aggressive, I like to be the sweeper, the calm one, and try and organise things. I love playing with him and I think he helps me out a lot, makes me look like a better player and hopefully I do the same for him. At times we're going to have to defend as a team."

Things are always that bit easier when you have a striker who is oozing confidence, and Chelsea's strong start has been powered in no small part by Jackson's goals.

The Senegal international has repaid the faith shown in him in the summer as the club stuck with him rather than splurging on the likes of Victor Osimhen, Jhon Duran or Samu Omorodion, continuing his fine form from the end of last season into the new campaign.

Jackson is answering his (many) critics emphatically with six league goal contributions in just five games so far, including his wonderfully-taken brace against West Ham last time out.

Speaking after the victory in east London, Maresca pointed to the striker's unseen work, too: "It is fantastic [for him]. In terms of the numbers, so goals and assists, he is doing well since I arrived. Off the ball, he is working hard and if a player misses one or two chances, that does not necessarily mean he is not playing well."

It will be intriguing to see how long it lasts, but Maresca has so far been able to keep a array of attacking talent happy and in form despite being unable to meet all of their game-time expectations.

Jackson has made himself undroppable despite the presence of the fit-again Christopher Nkunku, widely considered to be Chelsea's most potent attacking threat but forced to settle for a place on the bench in the Premier League

Rather than sit around and mope, though, that seems to have fuelled Nkunku to stake his claim, with the Frenchman seizing every opportunity that comes his way in the cup competitions. He bagged a hat-trick against Barrow in the Carabao Cup in midweek and already has two goals in Conference League qualifying to add to his league winner against Bournemouth.

"Both Nicolas and Christo [Nkunku] are doing fantastic," Maresca said recently. "It’s a nice problem when you have two strikers who continue to score. When you can decide which one to start with, it's nice. And because they are in a good moment we can use them both."

In the wide areas, Maresca has shuffled through Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Mykhailo Mudryk, with all of them making their mark to varying degrees already.

Nkunku's hard work in the face of the obstacle in his way speaks to the togetherness that Maresca has continued to build after his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino - a consummate man-manager - laid the foundations.

Across their social media channels the club seems keen to push the idea that everyone is pulling in the same direction regardless of how much or how little they are involved.

Following the 5-0 rout of Barrow, they shared a video of the players in the squad being congratulated on the pitch by those who were left out, alongside the caption: "Togetherness, spirit and a strong bond."

Asked about the collective mentality, another player who has been in and out of Maresca's team, Neto, said: "It is togetherness. If we want to achieve something and you want to arrive at the level of the teams that are on the top then we have to act the same way; all together and all with the same goal, working hard together.

"With the amount of quality we have here, no one can sleep. As the head coach has said, everyone will not play every game, so we have to work hard and continue to do it every week, in every training session, and every game. That is the mentality I hope will take us to the top."

However many words in, and we haven't even mentioned the man who has undoubtedly become Chelsea's talisman in his brief time at the club.

After taking a little while to build up match sharpness off the back of a busy summer at the Euros with England, Cole Palmer looks something close to his best - and he is demonstrating that last season's incredible exploits (27 goals, 15 assists) were no fluke.

Like Jackson, the languid attacking midfielder already has six goal involvements in five Premier League games and, such is his consistency, there is no expectation that he will slow down. Palmer makes Chelsea tick, and as long as he's around the possibilities are endless for Maresca & Co.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves; Chelsea are certainly beginning to look the part under Maresca as he implements his ideas and his players take them on board, but there are sterner tests to come.

The Blues were well beaten by Man City, albeit on the opening day, and have otherwise only faced teams who currently find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table after the opening weeks of the new campaign.

The next six weeks or so will be the true test of how far Chelsea have progressed and whether they are ready to take that step to becoming top-four challengers once again. That trial begins against unbeaten Brighton on Saturday, with clashes against Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United and Arsenal to come before mid-November.

Maresca's Blues are certainly on the right track and there is the sense that things have fallen into place swiftly after another chaotic summer of spending, but there is a long, long way to go.