Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea on the Rise As Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia Returns Draw Closer

• Mauricio Pochettino is seemingly getting his groove on as he continues with the Chelsea rebuild job
• The Blues' performance against Manchester City showed a club ready to head back to the top
• We take a look at Pochettino's season so far, with Christopher Nkunku expected to be ready soon

At the end of Chelsea's riveting clash against Manchester City on November 12, head coach Mauricio Pochettino stormed the pitch fully incensed, charging at Anthony Taylor.

The Argentine was visibly upset with the centre referee and, in the process, lost his characteristic composure. For his troubles, he received a booking with a good number of Chelsea fans whispering, 'That's my boss!'

Long gone are the days when insipid performances(either by match officials or the team itself) would be swatted away with a 'the boys played well.'

Throughout the Stamford Bridge contest, Pochettino was put through a wringer of emotions and at every turn, he made sure he let his players know what they had done wrong. He nearly lost it after an unmarked Manuel Akanji equalised for the visitors just before halftime.

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In a span of seven days, the Blues have played two title contenders and claimed four points. That was unfathomable, given their form this season.

The win against Spurs was a tad lucky given the myriad of misfortunes Ange Postecoglou's side suffered in that game, but a point against the defending champions, after going a goal down, felt like a win at the end of it all.

Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino

In the three and a half months he has been in charge, Pochettino has proven time and again that he has the technical know-how to hurt teams who play the ball. He dug deep to hold Liverpool on the opening day, agonizingly drew with Arsenal(could have been more) before the four-point haul over Spurs and City.

It is teams that sit back that have been a tough nut to crack, but surprisingly, Chelsea's stats have still been impressive. Only three teams(Manchester City, Arsenal and Brighton) have better possession stats than them, as captured by FbRef.

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Stats from the Premier League also show that only Manchester City(101) has created more chances than the West London side(81) this season.

Guardiola's side have been able to put to good use their high possession and numerous chances, which have resulted in 32 goals and 28 points compared to Chelsea's 21 goals and 16 points, with 9 places separating them on the Premier League table.

Defense-wise, only five teams have conceded less than the two-time European champions.

However, despite sitting pretty in the top five of almost every 'good' category, Pochettino still finds himself wallowing in 10th place in his debut season in the Blue side of London.

They sit second behind Brentford in terms of the big chances missed this season, with Nicolas Jackson being found culpable on multiple occasions.

So bad is the situation that the Senegalese forward still had an underperforming xG vs Spurs despite scoring a hat-trick.

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Is Christopher Nkunku the answer to Chelsea's problems?

There seems to be a general feeling amongst Chelsea fans and Pochettino himself that the imminent return of Christopher Nkunku could spark a turnaround of fortunes. The Frenchman is yet to make his EPL debut due to a knee injury sustained in preseason.

"I had a conversation with Christopher and he said to me he wanted to be involved after the international break against Newcastle. I think he’s close and he is doing really well. We are so happy with him in the way that he is doing his recovery," said Poch on the club's website.

To beat a well-coached low block, you need the ingenuity and abilities of individual players to work your way around it.

The English League might be a different ball game, but Nkunku's days at RB Leipzig and his connection with Chelsea players before the injury points to a person who could offer Pochettino options.

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The former PSG boss also needs to keep working with his wingers. The other way around the low blocks is having a player who can take on opponents in 1v1 situations.

Raheem Sterling appears to be 'obsessed' with football all over again, but more can be done. Cole Palmer has been a revelation so far, and his potential link-up with Nkunku is one thing to look forward to. The likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke are yet to impress fully despite the former's two goals in October.

Nicolas Jackson needs to do better

Lastly, to compete for major honours, Pochettino will need a world-class striker at his disposal. Armando Broja has shown flashes of brilliance as he continues to step into full fitness to provide competition for Jackson.

He has been compared to Diego Costa - the last 'proper' striker Chelsea had - all he needs to do is match the numbers the abrasive Spaniard posted.

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In all fairness, Jackson never had an out-of-this-world performance before Chelsea moved in for him. It was a gamble, and the former Villareal man will need all the help - including squad competition - he can get.

With Pochettino's tactical nous and recent performances, you get a feeling that it is just a matter of when, not if, they hit second gear.

If only the teething issues could be solved.