Antonio Conte will have a Halloween to forget having seen his Chelsea side crushed (lost 3-0) to the very end by Francesco Eusebio's Roma on Tuesday night at the Stadio Olympico in Rome despite controlling much of the proceedings in the first half .
Despite claims that the absence of energetic dynamic defensive midfielder N'golo Kante had a major impact on the game there is no denying the fact that Chelsea are lacking the same thing that made them the Champions of England last season. The same players who were called heroes last season seem to lack the drive, desire and attitude that once made them the best team in England last season. A look at once realiable defenders Marcus Alonso and Ceaser Azpilicueta shows both are either Jaded and tired or have lost the right mentality as Alonso's lifeless attitude allowed El-Shaarawy all the time to pick Eden Dzeko's header before scoring a screamer. Agreed Kante is like two players in one due to his positional skill and quality yet it must be noted that Chelsea have been poor all season even with him in the side as the 3-2 opening day loss to Burnley and 1-0 loss to Manchester City testifies. Conceding six goals in two weeks against Roma as well as conceding within 39 seconds is unacceptable for any side aspiring to win trophies which even seems fair when the stats are dug up. Even Antonio Rudiger who was making a return to his old side looked suspicious all night, not clearing a dangerous Kolarov long pass which led to the second goal likewise David Luiz who seems back to his old calamity best of recent.
This season Chelsea have recorded only five clean sheets from a total of 17 games across all competitions (appalling). In the last eight games , The Blues have recorded a single clean sheet as well as conceding 20 goals in 17 games which is poor when compared to their 33 goals conceded in 38 games last season. While it is accepted that Conte's attack isn't as dangerous as it was last season given Alvaro Morata's inability to score in his last five games despite starting the season on fire, yet it should be noted that the defence is far worse at present and most be addressed promptly. With the likes of Kennedy, Christensen and Zapacosta not so experienced, they aforementioned players deserve a chance in the first team as the likes of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar might benefit from some rest of sort on the bench.
Conte might have felt vindicated in letting go of Diego Costa having seen Morata's early season promise but watching from the game tonight it is wise to say that the Athletico Madrid striker would have given the Blues the needed drive and purpose which was so glaringly lacking all night, worse still the board's decision to sell Nemanja Matic to a rival club despite having to play every four days on the average this season.
Individual errors, miscommuncation, lack of confidence, fatigue, inability to do tactical preparations, loss of the dressing room call it anything you like; Chelsea look pathetic and out of touch and Conte must rescue the situation or risk getting booted by trigger happy Roman Abramovich. Bold calls and decisions must be taken and the former Juventus manager is a man not afraid to do that given his decision to switch to a three man backline last season which yielded results. For now Conte must be trusted to take the team further to where they belong.
No comments:
Post a Comment