Chelsea have come up short in in the Premier League title race, as Alvaro Morata’s injury adds to Antonio Conte’s Blues
THIS WILL go down as the moment Chelsea came up short in the title race.
As Alvaro Morata trudged off the pitch forlornly, rubbing his sore hamstring ten minutes before half time, the Premier League champions visibly wilted.
It should have been the great leveller. Manchester City minus Sergio Aguero and Chelsea without the razor sharp spearhead of their forward line who has scored seven goals in as many games.
But as Morata began the initial phase of treatment in the medical room under the East Stand at Stamford Bridge, the one big difference between two teams vying for top spot was painfully exposed.
City can slot Gabriel Jesus right into the hole where Aguero plays - a reliable centre forward who has his manager’s trust.
With Morata out of the game Conte’s attacking threat crumbles and the one question about Chelsea’s transfer dealings in the summer is raised.
Conte had £32 million striker Michy Batshuayi sitting just a couple of metres away from him on the bench. And having scored an historic winning goal for his team in the Champions League at Atletico Madrid just three days previous was clearly up for the challenge.
The fact that Conte ignored the full France international and the chance of a like-for-like swap with crocked Morata tells us precisely what the manager thinks of him.
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Instead he brought on Willian. A skilfull Brazilian winger but no centre forward.
And playing alongside Eden Hazard up front in a pint-sized partnership with a combined height of John Stones, the City defender given the easy task of marking them both out of the game.
At one point in the second half, Hazard made his way to the left wing and looked to cross the ball into the City goalmouth. The only two Chelsea players in the mix were Willian and N’Golo Kante - the only player even shorter than his two team-mates.
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It is no coincidence that after Cesar Azpilicueta struck a ferocious shot at City keeper Ederson in the 26th minute it took another 35 for Chelsea to record another shot on target.
Even worse, when Kevin de Bruyne smashed City in front, there was nobody in the Chelsea ranks capable of digging them out of trouble.
Diego Costa played all but three of the 38 Premier League games last season for Chelsea.
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Conte was lucky that his unruly Spanish striker stayed fit so long because up front is the club’s biggest asset and it’s biggest weakness if injury strikes and hamstrings can take an awful long time to settle down.
Reluctantly Conte brought on Batshuayi with less than twenty minutes to go - a last throw of the dice which didn’t roll his way.
And the repercussions of Chelsea missing out on signing a second striker in the summer hit home and hard.
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Losing out on Fernando Llorente to Tottenham on transfer deadline day, failing to bring in Torino striker Andrea Belotti. Not getting that dependable second forward to have his coach’s faith is a big miss.
It may be harsh on Batshuayi. After all, he scored a vital goal on Wednesday night in the biggest club competition in the world. And the one which clinched the title for Chelsea at West Brom in May.
At least there is the two week international break for Morata to rest up his hamstring and try to get fit for the next match.
That’s away at Crystal Palace - lucky old Conte, they don’t even need a striker there.