Has the Premier League finally found the chinks in Antonio Conte's armour?
Six games into his career as Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte has finally lost a match. The new Blues boss tasted his first defeat in England on Friday night, losing 2-1 to an impressive Liverpool side.
The Italian can’t say the signs weren’t visible after that close draw with Swansea before the Liverpool game.
It took some serious acrobatics from Diego Costa to pull the Blues out of that one, but the Brazilian couldn’t save his side against Jurgen Klopp’s men on Friday, despite finding the back of the net in the second half.
Fortunately, the loss was followed up by a 4-2 extra-time EFL Cup win over Premier League Champions Leicester City, but Chelsea’s cracks still showed in the first half as they went down 2-0.
Conte’s impressive record at Juventus
One thing about Conte, though, is that the Italian is not used to losing, especially after taking over at Juventus. While no one expects a repeat of last season, Conte must be wary.
His monumental record as Juventus manager is what got him on Roman Abramovich’s payroll, and if he cannot achieve this sort of near-perfection at Chelsea, he could soon see the exit door, much like his predecessors – Mourinho, Benitez, and Ancelotti.
Conte managed to go an entire campaign undefeated in his first season with the Serie A club, and won the Scudetto three years running. In his three years as Juve boss, the 47-year-old built a win rate of 68% and lost just 11 times.
That is the model that Abramovich wants his Chelsea side to follow, but such domination is not easily achieved in England’s top flight.
Tricky fixtures ahead
The loss to Liverpool could serve as a breaking-in or initiation for the Italian, but that’s to be determined after the Blues get through the tough upcoming fixtures ahead of them.
An away game at Arsenal follows their League Cup win over the Foxes, after which they will take on a strong Hull City side, Leicester again, Manchester United, Southampton and then Everton.
They will then face an easier opponent in Middlesbrough, but then matches against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and league leaders Manchester City are up next.
If Conte can steer his Blues through this arduous stretch and collect a decent amount of points, then Friday’s loss could be ticked under the blip section, but if not, it would mean that the Blues are in some trouble.
Chelsea’s vulnerability
We still have a way to go until then, but if we were to grade the Italian up to this present point, then we might say that the Premier League has indeed found the chinks in his armour.
Based on the results of the last two games, one could certainly make a case. Chelsea have only garnered a solitary point over the period, but it may have very easily gone the other way.
The defence is shouldering a lot of the blame, but let’s not forget that the Blues would have most likely beaten Swansea if the Welsh side didn’t get help from the match officials on the day. Leroy Fer’s foul on Gary Cahill was as clear as day, but he was able to get away with it and put the Blues on the back foot.
In Liverpool’s case, there’s just nothing that anyone could have done to stop Jordan Henderson’s beauty of a goal – although you might argue that Cahill could have cleared the ball better. The defensive organisation for the first goal was a complete mess.
Four Liverpool players left unmarked as Philippe Coutinho’s free-kick sailed into the box and a free Dejan Lovren poked the ball into the back of the net. Had a leader like John Terry been on the pitch, this surely wouldn’t have happened.
Yet if Conte really had his way, the captain would have probably been on the bench anyway.
Conte’s chase for a world class centre-back over the summer has been well documented. The Blues boss made attempts at landing his former player Leonardo Bonucci from Juventus but was stopped dead in his tracks.
He turned attentions to Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, but despite the player’s willingness to make the move, nothing materialised. Conte then went for AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli, and that didn’t work out either.
In the end, the manager got David Luiz, but it’s no secret that he was last resort. The Brazilian did have a good second debut on Friday and is a pretty good defender, but his lack of concentration in key parts of the game will be a worry for Chelsea and their manager.
A striker short
With regard to attacking players, Chelsea are pretty much stocked, except in the centre forward department, where only Costa and Michy Batshuayi are the only out and out strikers. Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be used as a striker if need be, but the youngster is inexperienced at the Premier League level and has only recently been used as a stiker.
Conte wanted to add Alvaro Morata to his side and it was rumoured that he was itching to sign James Rodriguez. Real Madrid didn’t budge, forcing Conte to make do with what he had. Inter Milan also held firmly onto Marcelo Brozovic, who was also a late target for the Blues.
So while it may appear that the Italian tactician is being exposed at Chelsea, it’s important to consider the club’s transfer business over the summer.
It’s more a case of Conte not getting the players he wanted, and actually not doing too badly with the players who finished 10th last season.