Champions Chelsea’s poor start to the season summed up by damning statistic

Chelsea have endured a so-so start to their Premier League campaign, and it’s been summed up in a single stat.

After losing the Community Shield on penalties to Arsenal, the reigning champions fell to a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Burnley on the opening day of the season. Despite a victory over Tottenham at Wembley and the resurgence that followed, there are still evident weaknesses in our squad.

They were exposed for the world to see as we locked horns with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. Former Blue Kevin De Bruyne’s superb strike was all that separated the teams, but the gulf in quality was clear, we were simply outclassed.

Antonio Conte needs to sort it out, and we have complete trust in him to do so. This stat provided by Opta, however, shows just how big of a task he has on his hands. We are considerably weaker than the juggernaut that triumphed last term.