Who says the Champions League group‑stage games are boring? Anyone who does should have been at Stamford Bridge on an evening when the early scent of smoke in the air preceded a firecracker of a match between teams who sit fifth in their respective top flights. Six goals and enough passages of enthralling play to leave everyone in attendance giddy on the spectacle of it all.
Or perhaps not, if Antonio Conte’s reaction to the final whistle was anything to go by. While the majority caught their breath, the Italian grimaced, politely shook hands with his counterpart, Eusebio Di Francesco, and headed down the tunnel. The simmering fury was clear, the sense that this match had been something to endure rather than enjoy, obvious to see.
There were obvious reasons for that – Chelsea had lost a 2-0 lead in slapdash fashion and after Edin Dzeko made it 3-2 on 70 minutes, having fired Roma level shortly before with a stunning volley, the sense that they were going to be overrun by impressive opponents only strengthened.
Eden Hazard’s equaliser soothed the angst in the home ranks, as well as maintaining their unbeaten start to this Champions League campaign, but from a Chelsea point of view this was not a great night, and for their manager in particular further proof that leading his side through this season is set to prove an arduous undertaking.
There was certainly enough in Chelsea’s display for Conte to feel justified in screaming “I told you so” at the club’s hierarchy. His team showed resilience but overall those in blue were leggy, disjointed and lacking in authority, everything they had not been when marching towards the Premier League title last season, after which the manager made it clear to those above him that he would need more players if Chelsea were to be competitive on all fronts during the following campaign.
We all know what happened. Conte got some players but not as many as he wanted and so wore a tracksuit for a couple of games as part of a not-so-subtle strop. But then Chelsea started winning, Conte put his smart suit back on and everything seemed hunky dory.
That was until the eve of this contest when Conte once again bemoaned his lack of options, warning the “thin” nature of his squad left him vulnerable to losing key players to injury during a busy run of games, with Victor Moses and N’Golo Kanté already absent until next month with hamstring injuries.
The 48-year-old was at it again here, talking about how it was “important to protect my players” and how Chelsea are in an “emergency situation” as he confirmed David Luiz – who opened the scoring with an unstoppable drive – was taken off on 57 minutes because he was suffering with a pain in a calf, and to some extent it can be argued that Conte is pushing his protests, as well as his luck, too far (as José Mourinho suggested in typically mischievous fashion following Manchester United’s victory over Benfica). After all, he has a squad full of internationals and even with Moses, Kanté and Danny Drinkwater unavailable he was still able to fill his bench with the likes of Pedro, Willian and the former Roma defender, Antonio Rüdiger.
Tiémoué Bakayoko was among those who also struggled to impose himself, with Conte later confirming the Frenchman is suffering with a groin strain, and the pressing question ahead of Watford’s visit here on Saturday, Chelsea’s third match in a run of seven in 22 days, is just why do the Italian’s men look so stretched, with Gary Cahill another to suffer a knock here, the defender finishing the game with a heavily bandaged head.And if a lack of bodies is an issue, Conte may want to mull over the 30-plus players who have been loaned out, some of them, such as Tammy Abraham, on his watch. How Chelsea could do with the striker right now. Diego Costa has left, Michy Batshuayi continues to underwhelm and Álvaro Morata is clearly not fully fit having returned here from the hamstring strain he picked up in the defeat to Manchester City last month. The Spaniard worked hard and contributed to Chelsea’s second goal, executing the shot that deflected into the path of the lurking Hazard, but overall he was not at his sharpest.
Are the manager’s training sessions proving incompatible with a schedule that requires his players to perform twice a week, most weeks? Is a lack of rotation an issue? After all, eight of those who started here also did so in the weekend defeat at Crystal Palace. Or does Conte really not have what he needs to be competitive on multiple fronts? Hence decisions such as pushing David Luiz into midfield here in the absence of specialists.
Whatever the case these are anxious days at Chelsea, with the feelgood factor generated by a run of seven wins in eight games dulled by a swift loss of form and momentum. It is now three matches without victory for the champions. “I’m not looking for excuses,” Conte insisted. He was fooling no one and increasingly his decision to sign fresh terms on an existing two-year deal as opposed to an extended contract in the summer appears an ominous setback for a club never far from managerial drama.
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