Chelsea are the Premier League entertainers. But what are we to make of them?

Are you not entertained?

Six Premier League games played, 15 goals scored, 13 conceded. Go to watch Xabi Alonso’s free-wheeling Chelsea side and the numbers indicate you can expect to see the ball hit the back of the net at least four times. Among the goals are likely to be clinical finishes, deflected efforts, long-range screamers and at least one set-piece farce. And whatever you do, make sure you don’t turn up a few minutes late.

Saturday’s 5-1 home rout of an abject Bournemouth delivered all of the above and more. Stamford Bridge was even treated to the sight of Jordan Henderson — or was it Maximus Jordanus Hendersus? — seeming to ask the question himself as he wheeled away in jubilation from two sublime goals, pointing, jumping, roaring, pumping his fists and tapping the badge he has only worn since August.

Only a deeply jaded and cynical observer would say no. Chelsea under Alonso are box office at both ends of the pitch, and apparently not particularly interested in keeping the ball under their control for too long in the safer patches of grass in between; their share of possession was 49.9 per cent against Bournemouth and their average sits at 47.6 per cent for the season.

But what on earth to make of this team? After six matches, this Chelsea side still defy confident long-term prediction, too extreme in their contours to create the image of something that feels truly sustainable over a 10-month season.

Chelsea returned from the international break with an emphatic win, with their new-look midfield particularly impressive

For starters, Chelsea’s scoring will surely slow down.

Their 15 goals have come from chances with a cumulative expected goals (xG) value of 8.4, according to Opta. In the Bournemouth game, five of their six shots on target found the net. This included Henderson channelling prime Frank Lampard and Gianfranco Zola, and Morgan Rogers beating Djordje Petrovic via a helpful flick off Antonio Silva’s head.

Game state is a big factor in the data discrepancy. Six of Chelsea’s 15 goals have been scored in the first seven minutes of matches, and Brentford are the only Premier League opponent to stop Alonso’s team scoring first. The team that falls behind tends to spend more time attacking and, therefore, has more opportunity to build up their xG. The team that goes in front tends to step off and pick their moments to push forward.

Within this context, Chelsea having an xG difference of -1.9 may not be quite as alarming as it appears at first glance. Their 13 goals conceded have come from chances with a cumulative xG of 10.3, suggesting that opponents have also punished their mistakes with a degree of ruthlessness that likely won’t continue forever.

Tighten up the set-piece defending (which ruined Emiliano Martinez’s hopes of a first clean sheet in Chelsea colours in tragicomic fashion from a Bournemouth corner kick in the 51st minute) and one huge obstacle to sustainable success will be overcome. Factor in the first hour of the Brentford game and this team’s defensive structure has been trending tentatively in the right direction, though Bournemouth forward Rayan got in behind Maxence Lacroix with alarming ease on a couple of occasions on Saturday.

It is hard not to link that greater solidity in part to Henderson’s nous and the long-awaited return of Moises Caicedo against Bournemouth, the latter making his first start of the season.

“They help each other well and they give presence, they give stability,” Alonso said of Henderson and Caicedo. “They are going to help the rest, not just for their qualities, but because they understand the game, too. They can play in shorter spaces, but also defensively they give good balance.”

Caicedo’s importance has been underlined by every game he has missed with his calf injury, and in his 72 minutes on the pitch he showcased many of the qualities that mark him out as the most irreplaceable player at Stamford Bridge. His near-total absence until Saturday is enough to rule out any definitive conclusions about what Chelsea can be under Alonso, based on what we have seen.

With and without the ball, Caicedo makes Chelsea an entirely different proposition. Managing his minutes carefully to ensure his continued availability is critical. “The plan was for him not to play the whole game, even though you always want to have Moises on the pitch,” Alonso explained. “But he felt well. With him, we have a better midfield area and when you are better in the middle, you have a more complete team.”

What does this team look like when it is complete? Who is Caicedo’s default partner? Is it really Henderson, the choice no one at Stamford Bridge would have predicted in the summer? Is it Reece James, who still has jarring moments in midfield and is being monitored “week to week” after picking up a knee injury? Could it be Romeo Lavia or Valentin Barco, who have both shown clear strengths and obvious flaws? Or is it January signing TBD?

More broadly, can Alonso’s side keep scoring so often on their first attack of the game? The last Chelsea team to maintain such ruthlessness over most of a Premier League season was the Antonio Conte-led core that found the net 85 times en route to lifting the title in 2016-17. That side also defended at a much higher level than this group.

Alonso does, at least, have the benefit of the most dazzling attacking talent Chelsea have had since Eden Hazard in Cole Palmer and, in Joao Pedro, the most lethal No 9 at Stamford Bridge since prime Diego Costa. Even if Rogers’ remarkably hot finishing cools off a little, it would not be shocking if all three end this season well into double figures for Premier League goals, having each significantly outperformed their xG.

Joao Pedro is the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with five goals in five gamesGlyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images

Along the way, they should provide plenty more entertainment, even if they make Alonso wait for the “boring” Chelsea win he has been publicly craving.

The next four matches in all competitions include home meetings with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, either side of a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool at Anfield. By the end of October, we should finally have a clearer sense of who exactly this Chelsea team are, and what direction this season will take.