Antonio Conte led Chelsea to another Premier League title in his first season in England, but it will be harder than ever for the Blues to retain their crown. They proved in the first game of the title defence that it won’t be plain sailing as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Burnley, and finished the game with nine men. Conte’s men were three goals behind at half-time, and despite a late rally, they couldn’t fully reduce the deficit.
Even though it’s only one game into the new campaign, the warning signs could not be clearer for the Chelsea fans, and they could quite easily run into much bigger issues this season especially against the fellow big boys. Here are three of the main problems they are facing at this early stage.
3Diego Diego Diego
One of Chelsea’s big stars of the last few years is Spanish striker, Diego Costa, who has this summer made it clear that he will be leaving Stamford Bridge. His relationship went sour with Conte after a set of text messages were revealed between the two showing that the Italian boss doesn’t need him at the Bridge anymore.
They signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid to attempt to paper the cracks opened by Costa, and while it might bring the goals, it won’t bring the character. One of Diego Costa’s best attributes is his attitude and the way he bullies defenders, and there aren’t many strikers in the world that can replicate that.
He is undoubtedly a talented goal scorer, but the ego of Costa makes him a very special player and the Spaniard is incredibly hard to replace. Morata is also a great goal scorer, but he has very big shoes to fill at Chelsea and whether he is capable is still very much up for discussion.
