Chelsea moving from chaos to consistency but title challenger? Maresca says 'no'

LONDON (AP) — Liverpool's fast start and Manchester City's unusual slide make it easy to overlook Chelsea's climb up to third place in the English Premier League.

Just don't call it a title contender.

“No. I’d really like to say, ‘Yes, we are there,’ but we are not there,” Blues manager Enzo Maresca said Friday.

But progress? Yes. It wasn't long ago that Chelsea was in the headlines for its revolving door of coaches and seemingly wasteful spending, combined with inconsistent performances on the field.