Chelsea have had something of an inconsistent 2023/24 season thus far. Despite reaching the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool last month, the Blues currently reside in 11th place, 14 points off the top four spots.
Granted, their form in the last campaign wasn't much better as Todd Boehly's team found themselves finishing the season in the bottom half of the table.
The last couple of years have been a major fall from grace for the west London club as, prior to Boehly's takeover, the side not only finished in the top half of the Premier League table, but they managed to achieve Champions League qualification.
So, despite the American spending over £1b in both transfer and loan fees since the start of his tenure, the Stamford Bridge club have made little obvious progress to date.
For example, in Saturday's clash against Brentford, the Blues had to rely on an 83rd-minute goal from Axel Disasi in order to gain a point from the encounter, the two sides playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw in west London.
It wasn't just Disasi who proved to be Chelsea's saviour this afternoon, however, one other player whom Boehly acquired from Ligue 1 having started to pick up form and showcase his ability. That player being, Malo Gusto.
Malo Gusto's game in numbers vs Brentford
Gusto has been a fairly consistent starter for Mauricio Pochettino this season due to the injuries which Reece James has suffered to date.
The France international has played a total of 26 times for Chelsea in all competitions this term and has provided his team with six assists – notably teeing up Nicolas Jackson's opener against the Bees with a delicious cross.
During the game, the promising defender also managed to successfully dribble past his opponents twice and win 66% of the duels which he attempted, as per Sofascore, having also chalked up three key passes from his wing-back berth,
The former Lyon man did, however, manage to lose the ball 17 times, although that was likely due to his willingness to make things happen for his side in a creative sense, seemingly more than deserving of his 7/10 match rating – as per GOAL.
The attack-minded defender wasn't the only Chelsea player who had a stellar game, however, as Disasi was the reason behind the Blues getting a point at all.
How well Disasi played against the Bees
Disasi is another one of Boehly's signings which seems to have aged well. The defender was signed for a fee in the region of £38m and has been a regular in Pochettino's squad.
The 25-year-old has appeared a total of 34 times for the west London club and has scored twice during that time.
Whilst these returns aren't the strongest, defenders are often not judged by the amount of goals they contribute to their team, rather, they are judged by the amount of goals they can keep out.
The former Monaco man largely did a stellar job at that during their meeting with Thomas Frank's side as he managed to win 60% of the duels which he attempted and cleared the ball a total of three times.
Disasi also had 81 touches of the ball, which is more than what Ben Chilwell managed despite the former Leicester man playing in a much more advanced role.
If the centre-back's form continues as it has been doing over the last few seasons, there is no reason as to why we won't be seeing the 6 foot 2 titan donning the blue of Chelsea for many years to come.