Are you scared yet? Chelsea put on a horror show in Rome on Halloween and got buried by a 3-0 scoreline. The result saw Roma leapfrog Chelsea to the top spot in the group and almost through to the last 16. As for Chelsea, their day got a little better when news came through of Atletico Madrid only drawing with Qarabag.
As for this match, it makes grim reading for those of the Blue persuasion.
#1 If It Ain’t Broke
Antonio Conte is infinitely more knowledgeable about football tactics than I could ever dream of being. So when he changed a perfectly functioning defence yet again, bringing in Cahill alongside Rudiger and Luiz while shunting Azpilicueta to right wingback, I felt uneasy but I went along with it. I imagined it was some sort of radical tactic beyond my understanding, even though I had a feeling it could turn out to be bad. Really bad. It didn’t take long for reality to land a punch in the gut. Alonso was too slow to the second ball and El Shaarawy lashed one in with the outside of his boot. Courtois barely had time to react before the ball flew past him. One minute in, one goal down.
#2 Blink And You Miss It
After the initial shock had subsided, Chelsea went about playing their football and created plenty of chances. But as on most days, the Blues just did not take any of those opportunities. Morata, in particular, missed an absolute sitter, sending a shiver down the collective spines of fans who are still getting over how bad Fernando Torres was. This was beginning to look like the theme, with Chelsea creating the majority of chances in the first half without really taking advantage. And it would come back to bite them.
#3 The Chuckle Brothers
After a solid defensive performance against Bournemouth where they kept a clean sheet, the Chelsea defence was at its hilarious worst against Roma. They might be playing in different positions, but they managed to make it look as if it was the first time they’d ever played with each other. There was no leadership, no understanding or anticipation of danger and nary an effort to keep the ball away from the box. The lowest point came not when Rudiger was caught ball-watching for Roma’s second goal or when Perotti easily skipped past Pedro, the wing back, to score Roma’s third, but when three Chelsea defenders – yes, three – went after the same man, leaving two Roma players open in the Chelsea box and Courtois exposed.
#4 Bakayoko? Oh No
Listen, Antonio. You’ve tried it before and it didn’t work. You tried it again today and again it did not work. Perhaps it’s time to send Fabregas back to his spot on the bench, bring Drinkwater in and make Bakayoko do extra ball-work in training, at least until Kante is fit again. A two-man midfield of Fabregas and Bakayoko is just not good enough. Period. Fabregas is a liability without the ball, and with no Kante to clean up after him it just gets messy. Bakayoko might have been brought in for his potential but it doesn’t really help if he can’t do the basics right in midfield. The Chelsea faithful have a song about the big Frenchman, which has this line – “He never gives the ball away”. There’s more truth on Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed than in that awful song.
#5 Future Imperfect
With yet another Super Sunday coming up, this game has eroded a lot of confidence in the defensive aspect of Chelsea’s game. Will young Andreas be the glue that fixes the defence? And what about the midfield? Will Conte shore up the middle with Luiz, even if Kante is available to start? Will Bakayoko stand up and be counted? The attack essentially picks itself, so unless it really is a radical switch, like Morata AND Batshuayi up front, the only change could be Willian coming in for Pedro.
And so, we now look forward to the visit of Manchester United on Sunday. A fascinating tactical battle lays ahead, one that could make or break Chelsea’s diminishing hopes of retaining the title.