Nine games, six wins, two draws and one defeat. However disappointing Saturday afternoon's humbling loss to Brighton was, any Chelsea supporter would surely have taken that if offered going into a hectic October schedule.
This season is really like no other. The FIFA World Cup begins very soon in what is the first mid-season version of the international tournament since its inception.
This meant Chelsea, as well as many other teams around Europe, had to fit in more games into October to work around the schedule. The Blues played a total of nine times throughout the month, with six of them coming in the Premier League and three Champions League games also to contend with.
The month started with a trip to Crystal Palace in what was Graham Potter's first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea. It couldn't have gotten off to a worst start with Odsonne Edouard opening the scoring for the home side after just seven minutes.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on hand to level the match half an hour later, though, before Conor Gallagher's 90th-minute winner. It felt big at the time. Looking back to almost a month ago, it may have been the moment that kickstarted Potter's tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Then AC Milan came to west London a few days later in the Champions League. It was one many Chelsea supporters were slightly wary of given Milan's reputation and success over recent seasons. However, Chelsea blew the Italians away at the Bridge – and it was almost a perfect night apart from Wesley Fofana going off injured with a knee problem.
Wolves came to the capital days later and Chelsea recorded back-to-back 3-0 victories. In the first time in what felt like an age, Chelsea had found the right balance between attacking and defending. The link-up play in attack was very impressive, with the defensive line also doing a tremendous job at restricting their opponents to precious little.
Chelsea then travelled to Aston Villa on October 16 and recorded their fourth victory (and clean sheet) on the bounce. Kepa Arrizabalaga really proved his worth and showcased his drastic improvement in between the posts at Villa Park.
Days later, Kepa produced another huge performance away at Brentford. It was by no means vintage Chelsea against the Bees, but another solid defensive performance meant the match finished as a 0-0 draw.
Then, Manchester United came to town on October 22 in what was perhaps Potter's biggest challenge as Chelsea head coach to date. Erik ten Hag set up his side smartly and Chelsea struggled, particularly in the first-half. Potter tweaked the side, though, at half-time and the Blues came out so much better. Jorginho thought he had won it for the hosts at the Bridge with a late penalty, but Casemiro levelled the game in stoppage time to earn the visitors a point.
Chelsea bounced back three days later away at FC Salzburg. The three points for the Blues ensured they would qualify from Group E in the Champions League. AC Milan's win over Dinamo Zagreb later in the evening meant Chelsea would qualify as group winners.
Potter and Chelsea capped off the month with their first defeat. Brighton, ironically on Potter's return to the Amex Stadium, deservedly beat the Blues 4-1 in what was a poor performance from the visitors on the south coast.
It was a game that rang a few alarm bells with Chelsea supporters and provoked some criticism of the head coach in the aftermath. Criticism is fair, players and managers alike are there to be judged. They always will be because of their status.
However, perspective is definitely needed. Potter has just inherited this squad from Thomas Tuchel. It was always going to take time to get his style of players across to the players – and, to be fair, what he has done so far, with the obvious and evident changes to their play, has been tremendous.
Nine games, six wins, two draws and one defeat. However bad Saturday was; you surely cannot be too downbeat about Potter's start at Chelsea and that horrendous-looking October schedule.
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