Chelsea vs Cardiff City (4-1): Four talking points

1) The striker situation

Olivier Giroud

Alvaro Morata was widely expected to start the season as the number one striker as Maurizio Sarri's teams often featured strikers with an ability to run in behind and having great poaching instincts. However, the Spaniard could not hold on to the starting spot as it looks like he still has not been able to shake off last season's problems. The former Real Madrid did not even get a look in from the bench and it's a worrying time for and Chelsea's thinktank will be hoping for a good response from him as he hasn't played a single minute since the international break, unable to even get a minute for Spain national team.

Olivier Giroud, on the other hand, was not seen as a profile of player that Sarri uses but his decision to give the Frenchman a start paid dividends. Giroud's link-up play with Eden Hazard was a joy to watch and the French striker played a major role in both of the Belgian's goals in the first half. Giroud picked up where he left off in the second half as he linked up with the attackers and was impressive defensively. As a traditional target man striker, surprisingly, his inclusion suddenly made Chelsea's attack look much more fluid as compared to Chelsea's first four premier league games. The only thing missing from him was a goal which he will surely get in the coming games given the way Chelsea are playing.

2) Mateo Kovacic

Chelsea FC v Cardiff City - Premier League

Chelsea's summer loan signing has impressed ever since his debut against Arsenal. The Croatian has slotted in seamlessly on the left side of the midfield three, combining with Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso. There might be a possibility that the loan arrangement could be made permanent at the end of the season, however, the discussion is still premature.

Mateo Kovacic looks like he is tailormade for the Premier League. He brings a creative spark along with his neat dribbling skills which serve him well against packed defenses and there is certainly no dearth of that in the Premier League. More impressive is the fact that he is equally solid defensively and that is the reason that he complements Jorginho and Kante perfectly in the midfield three. The fun has only just begun. Unfortunately, he was substituted at halftime due to a knock he picked up early in the game, one can only hope that the injury does not cause a long layoff.

A bigger question surrounds his direct competitors for the place. Ross Barkley looked tidy but unspectacular and Ruben Loftus-Cheek still needs some tactical discipline before Sarri can trust him- which was reiterated by both player and manager recently in the media. Anyhow, it should be said that midfield looks like the least worrying part of Chelsea's squad currently with Drinkwater and Ethan Ampadu also waiting in the wings