Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Pep Chavarria of Chelsea
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Lewis Storey CFC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Lewis Storey CFC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Alfie Cosgrove/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Against Bournemouth, he ran 11.9km – half a kilometre above second-best Chavarria. On Saturday, he went a tenth further, running 12.0km. Next-best was ex-Chelsea ace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with 11.3km.
Henderson is not only showing leadership off the pitch, but on it too. Constantly organising his Chelsea teammates, but also doing so with his stamina, which infectiously gets everyone else working hard.
Chelsea have outrun three teams in the Premier League so far
It is clearly an area that Alonso has identified as a major flaw of last season. Chelsea were outrun in 37 of 38 Premier League games last season. This time around, they have outrun their opponents three times.
The away win over Fulham, and then the wins over Bournemouth and Everton, have seen Chelsea clock up a bigger distance than The Cherries and The Toffees. Henderson is the catalyst; teammates are listening.
Going into the weekend, Chelsea were 13th in the Premier League for total distance covered. While that is not particularly impressive, it is a massive improvement on last season. Chelsea were rock bottom.
It is difficult to understand how good Henderson has been. Steven Gerrard thinks he will be annoyed at being described as a squad player, signed for his experience. He is proving he is so much more than that.