Antonio Conte finds himself in his first battle at Chelsea
Two disappointing results in the space of 5 days has Chelsea manager Antonio Conte feeling the pressure for the first time in his new job.
Everyone’s happy when you’re winning. Squad players refuse to upset the positive atmosphere by airing their unhappy thoughts too loudly, fans have little to complain about and the media simply don’t rely on feel-good stories to sell their product. Life is good when those 3 points come rolling in every weekend.
Antonio Conte, in his first month as Chelsea manager, will know that feeling only too well. Labelled as the “Juventus version of Pep Guardiola”, Conte is used to success. He’s won 4 league titles in his time as a coach, 3 of them with Juventus where he spearheaded their revival following the match-fixing scandal that saw them relegated to the lower leagues of Italian football.
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His arrival at Stamford Bridge brought much intrigue with it. His belief in high-pressure, unusual formations and reverting players’ positions from time to time was something different to the Premier League. His excellent management during EURO 2016 with a lesser talented Italian squad than what we’re used to seeing heightened the excitement. Chelsea needed something different, something unique after last season’s disaster. Conte fit that category perfectly.
Wins against West Ham, Watford and Burnley were needed, if not expected. Diego Costa, who already has five goals to his name this campaign, popped up with a couple of late scores to seal these victories. Overall, though, the performances were solid and the results were positive.
Conte’s first month in English football could not have gone much better as August finished with Chelsea holding the same amount of points as the big-spending Manchester clubs.
Now, however, the Italian finds himself in the trenches of his first battle as Chelsea manager. A disappointing 2-2 draw with relegation-favourites Swansea last week was followed up by a shockingly sub-par 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool on Friday night.
Those who were at fault for last year’s dreadful campaign were suspect again this week. Branislav Ivanovic, captain in the absence of John Terry, showed the same form he has over the last 12 months. Giving away cheap fouls, beaten easily by his man and overall just struggling to deal with the quick intensity in which Liverpool attacked with.
Nemanja Matic may have assisted Costa’s consolation goal but when he was called upon to do the job he had been tasked with, the midfielder failed to make an impression. Jurgen Klopp’s midfield passed around Matic, taking advantage of his slow reactions and lack of pace.
Oscar has been credited with a mini-revolution under Conte, though none of that was apparent during the defeat. The Brazilian continuously looks to receive the ball deep but as much as he tries, Cesc Fabregas he is not.
His work rate is admirable, and defensively he can be relied upon to put in a shift. Creatively, alas, Oscar has been unable to build on the potential which Chelsea fans witnessed in his debut season back in 2012/2013.
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The Blues have now dropped 5 points in 5 days. Both games were winnable, or should have at least seen them take 4 points instead of 1. Despite the obvious shortcomings within the Chelsea squad, Conte is not blameless.
Much like the draw against Swansea, substitutions were made at a very late stage. Fabregas, Victor Moses and Pedro were brought on around the 83 minute mark. Players can sometimes take 10-15 minutes to settle into a game which makes the limited cameos for all three players downright confusing.
Some would even argue that young and energetic Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi should have been introduced at half-time as Chelsea struggled to break down the Liverpool defence. Conte resisted the temptation, though, and his team suffered as a result.
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Chelsea head up to Leicester on Tuesday in an EFL Cup tie that will see much of the first team rested. A defeat will draw unwanted headlines and you can be sure the term crisis will be thrown around as well.
Players like Fabregas, Moses and Ruben Loftus-Cheek amongst others deserve their chance to show Conte what they are capable of. However, the third round fixture is surrounded by more pressure than imagined when the draw was originally made.
The tension only extends further to next weekend for Conte. An away game to fierce rivals Arsenal promises to be an exciting affair. For the 47-year-old, it provides an opportunity to get Chelsea’s season back on track.
People will say it’s only September and panic is unnecessary this early on. A loss to Arsene Wenger’s side, following the negative results versus Swansea and Liverpool isn’t ideal for a manager that is already beginning to feel the heavy weight of expectations that come with English football.
This time last year, Chelsea were only starting what would turn out to be a very long and underwhelming campaign. One which would even see popular manager Jose Mourinho depart the club before Christmas.
It’s not too late for Conte to turn the downward spiral of the club in the opposite direction. But it won’t be long until the positive atmosphere which surrounded his arrival turns sour.