Emiliano Martinez said he joined Chelsea to win the Premier League title after making his debut in a 4-3 victory over Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
The World Cup winner was rushed straight into the starting line-up just a day after completing his £7.5m move from Aston Villa. Chelsea have now won their opening two league games of the season.
Martinez conceded three goals on debut but believes the attacking trio of Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro can drive a serious title challenge.
Martinez sets high targets
Martinez said: “I am here for a reason. I spoke with Chelsea legends John Terry and Petr Cech. I know how big this club is and what we want to achieve this season. I came here to help.
“I had an amazing seven years at Aston Villa. I have come here to challenge and to try and win the Premier League.
“The front three is amazing. When we go forward, we can hurt teams. We had a lot of chances to finish the game. Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro had chances to kill the game. At the back, we need to bring the goals down.”
Adapting quickly
“I trained only one day with the team. The guys have treated me really well in the last day or two. I know the talent we have up front. I try to bring that solidity in the back.
“A win is a win. I know it wasn't a perfect game. But in the end, winning and moving on is what we need. We've got 36 games left and it's one week after another.”
Managers react
Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso said: “I want to win, whatever it takes to win and each game can be different so we need to prepare for the best, we need to train for the best and be prepared for whatever scenario we have.
“So it's not that this is going to be replicated against Arsenal next week. Today it was a big challenge and it was a big test and next Sunday it's going to be a big one but we can continue progressing on the good things and correcting the other ones that we can do better.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said: “Overall we really had the opportunity to take something from here with this performance. We dominated the game, had the ball, created plenty of chances.”
