Chelsea’s Defeat to Liverpool Shows We’re Far from Seeing an Antonio Conte Team

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — Antonio Conte wasn’t panicking on Friday. As he digested his first defeat as Chelsea boss, he wasn’t sat in front of the media looking for excuses and singling out his players on the back of a sobering night against Liverpool.

Conte was much different. Frustrated, yes, but he was calm and considered in his response to the questions being put to him in the confines of Chelsea’s media room. Rather than get carried away, he was asking for a sense of perspective.

Without saying it, he acknowledged Chelsea lost to a better Liverpool team. This was Jurgen Klopp’s Reds a year on from when he first took charge; his methods being instilled on the training ground are paying off, and it showed at Stamford Bridge.

This was a magnificent performance from what is shaping into an equally magnificent team. Liverpool were sharp from the off, pushing Chelsea deep into their half and strangling their attempts at asserting themselves.

With runners and movement across the midfield, they had Chelsea chasing shadows, and it led to the errors in judgment that saw Conte’s men suffer.

First, a free-kick wasn’t properly cleared, which allowed three Liverpool players to ghost in at the back post unmarked. Dejan Lovren could make no mistake from close range, one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois.

Then came Jordan Henderson’s wonder goal, smacking the ball from range into the top corner of Courtois’ net. He had no chance at stopping it, but Chelsea’s defenders could have and should have closed down the throw-in that preceded the goal much quicker.

It was the sort of lapse in concentration that defined Chelsea’s miserable 2015/16. Lest we forget, six months ago, this team was done. We thought Chelsea as we knew them had drawn their last breath; a major reshuffle was needed to get them back on their feet and going again.

Then Conte entered the fray, and we forgot just how bad it had been. In the early stages of the new campaign, it seemed Chelsea were fast-tracking their return to superiority; they were joint-top of the league with Manchester City going into the international break.

A draw and defeat later, and we’ve been reminded that the road to recovery is a long one. It’s going to take much more than Conte clicking his fingers and marching up and down the touchline to make the bad news all go away.

Brushing Burnley aside so comprehensively is …

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