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Chelsea's history of perfect starts bodes well for the Maurizio Sarri era

It's fair to say Maurizio Sarri's revolution at Chelsea is ahead of schedule. Wins over Huddersfield Town, Arsenal and Newcastle have lifted the Blues to the top of the table alongside Liverpool and Watford, with champions Manchester City two points behind.

Sarri was understandably keen to dismiss the significance of Chelsea's lofty position this early in the season, but their start is an impressive achievement. Only six previous Blues sides have won all three of their opening Premier League matches in the Roman Abramovich era. Four went on to claim the title.

ESPN FC takes a look back at those teams to put Sarri's perfect start into perspective:

2004-05: Mourinho's fast start

Manchester United were the opening-day visitors to Stamford Bridge, giving a fresh-faced Jose Mourinho the chance to back up his self-proclaimed "Special One" status by beating Sir Alex Ferguson.