Chelsea: Mid-Preseason Report Card (sure, it’s a thing)

C. <p>Meh. The struggles here mostly seem to come from Antonio Conte playing Ruben Loftus-Cheek as a forward (more on that later). Still, the ball isn’t sticking, and attacks are proving to be fruitless and short.</p> <p>The Loftus-Cheek experiment is coming at the expense of the £33million Michy Batshuayi. Batshuayi has not featured much as Conte has been adamant about giving Loftus-Cheek ample time to adjust to a new position. Heading into the home stretch of games that don’t count, hopefully Diego Costa and Batshuayi are given more opportunities to develop a partnership.</p>. . . ATTACK

<p>Conte seems to be set on a 4-2-4, which helps keep the team balanced while keeping solid numbers in defense. So far the hole between the two midfielders and two forwards is allowing teams a safe space to possess the ball for long stretches.</p> <p>No midfield player has been able to provide the tact of keeping possession when necessary and springing attacks the moment a seam opens. Fabregas is too slow, Oscar has been boring, and Matic is great at winning the ball but horrid at playing it out.</p> <p>*Extra credit: Chelsea turned £32-million into the very best person doing this very important job, N’Golo Kanté.  </p>. . . MIDFIELD . C-*

<p>I wrote in my preview ahead of the Liverpool match that, in the context of Chelsea’s defense, it would be as revealing as preseason games gets. Though the back line was breached a couple of times only to be saved by a linesman’s flag, the defense looks to be much better prepared and organized.</p> <p>Though this doesn’t equal 100% comfort in a CB pairing of the ancient John Terry and persistent backpedaler Gary Cahill, the effort and improvement is undeniable. Also, Ola Aina (more on him later) looks to be sturdy enough to give Conte a headache when Branislav Ivanovic is fully fit.</p> <p>Poor Baba Rahman still can’t manage his way on the pitch to make up for a turbulent first season, but Ola Aina is just as fun to say and didn’t cost £14 million.</p> <p><span style=. . . DEFENSE . B+

. MANAGER . A. <p>Conte has been brilliant. He is engaged, active, and working the players hard while giving chances to those that deserve it. Though I don’t quite understand his obsession with turning Ruben Loftus-Cheek into a striker, I’m willing to let that play out (if only for the preseason).</p> <p>Of course the players are all saying the right things in the media and so is Conte himself, as it seems to be a veritable lovefest of Vine’d tweeted and Instagram’d #content. That all will surely change once matches start counting and pressure starts telling, but you’d much rather your team have this foundation before all that begins. That all starts with the manager, who understands balancing work with fun.</p> <p><span style=.