5 immediate problems Chelsea must resolve if they are to be successful

#4 Chelsea are yet to find a capable replacement for Nemanja Matic

Tiemoue Bakayoko has struggled for form at Chelsea

“Bakayoko is a good signing for us. He is very young. My idea was to give Bakayoko the right time to adapt in this league behind Matic. But now after the sale of Matic, we need to try to accelerate this process for Bakayoko after his injury.” - Conte in August 2017

It is safe to say that things did not go according to plan for the Chelsea manager. Tiemoue Bakayoko is a good signing but he is yet to come to terms with what Conte expects from him.

One of the reasons why Chelsea were successful was Nemanja Matic's presence in midfield. He wasn't just restricted to a defensive midfield role. His ability to hold on to the ball in possession and pick the right pass is what added value to the Blues' midfield.

Unfortunately, Bakayoko does not have the same positional intelligence and passing range of the big Serbian. Conte tried to rectify it by playing Danny Drinkwater alongside N'Golo Kante and then by playing three midfielders with Cesc Fabregas in a deep role.

Adding one midfielder to the mix meant sacrificing a wide player - which is why the likes of Willian and Pedro do not start many games. It made Chelsea a bit more predictable with the creative burden in the final third falling on Eden Hazard's shoulders.