Chelsea went into the international break on the back of a mediocre start to life under Xabi Alonso, winning two, losing as many and drawing once in their first five games.
The Blues looked good to start the season, albeit with plenty of defensive fragility, but a poor draw against Hull City and a heavy defeat to Brentford showed what can happen when the defence is leaky but the attack cannot keep up.
Alonso is going to have to find solutions to his defensive problems while still trying to extract the best from what is a dangerous attack. Bournemouth, Everton and Spurs await on the other side of the international break.
Here we take a look at three Chelsea players who have a smaller runway with Alonso when they return to action after disappointing starts to the season.
Estevao Willian
Willian has not had a very fruitful start to the season. He has only made four substitute appearances, and if he wants more than that, he is going to have to produce with his cameos. He is not getting onto the ball, only managing an average of four passes per game, and he is yet to offer anything useful off the bench. The Blues need real competition, and Estevao needs to start offering it.
Levi Colwill
It's a strange situation with Colwill. The usually consistent centre-back just isn't taking to life under Alonso so far, and he has been one of - if not the - worst players in a struggling Blues defence. He is averaging less than one tackle and less than one block per game, and Chelsea need more from their starting centre-back both on and off the ball. He has been way off.
Reece James
James is another cog in this struggling Chelsea defence, and the experienced full-back will know he needs to step things up. Almost all of his metrics are down, managing less than one tackle, block, interception and dribble per game.
James is not even managing an average of one cross per game for a right-back who usually gets forward and provides deliveries. At a certain point, if you're not contributing defensively or offensively, what are you contributing? That's the question Alonso is going to start to ask if James doesn't start to up his game. Although it must be said that it's the whole Chelsea defence that looks dysfunctional, and James is only one part of it.
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