Chelsea fell to their third Premier League defeat of the season away to Crystal Palace on Saturday, who their first three points of the campaign.
The defeat leaves the champions nine points off leaders Manchester City at the top of the table.
Ahead of the midweek game against Roma, we look at what we learned from the defeat at Selhurst Park.
Batshuayi not cutting it
Many called for the Belgian striker to start against Palace and Batshuayi was given his chance to impress with no Alvaro Morata for Chelsea.
Unfortunately, Antonio Conte’s selection headache looks set to continue with the Belgian looking far from ready to start in the Premier League.
Against Manchester City, without a recognised striker, Chelsea lacked a focal point and an ‘out ball’. It was the same against Palace, despite Batshuayi’s inclusion.
His movement and levels of composure are just not at the same level as Morata. Could Conte be tempted by a January move for another striker? After missing out on Fernando Llorente, you’d imagine so.
International break taking its toll
It’s easy to make excuses when results don’t go your way, but it was clear to see that the international break had taken its toll on the Chelsea players on Saturday.
The Crystal Palace players understandably had their tails up after going a goal in front early, but Chelsea were off the pace and a yard or two slower on every pass.
The game had been earmarked as a potential banana skin fixture and it was just one of those games for Chelsea.
Luiz to move into midfield?
For the most part, the Brazilian defender has been in spectacular form since returning from Paris.
However, he has also shown glimpses of the defender that Chelsea sold the first time around. Those types of performances have crept into his game more and more this season with his place in the back three not as secure as it previously had been.
Conte has also been reluctant to move him into midfield when needed, but with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger impressing when called upon and depth in midfield looking bleak, the Brazilian could play further forward against Roma.
