Problems At Chelsea?  (Sky Sports)

As the issues mount for champions Chelsea following their 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, Adam Bate reflects on the culmination of a horrible week for Jose Mourinho…

Like the old lady who swallowed a spider to catch a fly, Chelsea’s situation has not improved. The Eva Carneiro furore succeeded in distracting from a disappointing home draw with Swansea, so perhaps a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City will mean the questions about Chelsea’s medical department will begin to subside too. But the problems are only increasing.

Indeed, the decision to substitute John Terry for Kurt Zouma might well ensure that even that story moves on quickly. After all, it’s the first time that Chelsea’s captain has ever been withdrawn from a Premier League game by Jose Mourinho. “It was just a decision,” the manager told Sky Sports. “I know that Zouma is the fastest defender in the squad.”

A big call nonetheless. What’s not up for debate is that Terry looked particularly uncomfortable from the outset. Within the first minute he was caught out for pace and position when the sluggish Cesc Fabregas gave David Silva far too much time to pick out a pass and the speedy Sergio Aguero nipped in between Terry and Gary Cahill. The defensive line was poor.

Aguero surprisingly squandered that opening and was denied on a further two occasions by Asmir Begovic soon after. He should have finished off Aleksandar Kolarov’s whipped cross from close range as well - and all within the first half an hour. It was not the Chelsea with which we have become familiar. So much so that when the goal finally came it felt inevitable.

“He’s had five chances. Fifth time lucky,” said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville on co-commentary. “If you’d said that a Jose Mourinho team would concede five big chances to Sergio Aguero in a big game you’d have said no chance.” And yet, here we were.

“I’ve never seen them so disorganised,” added Neville. The memory was not failing him. Chelsea conceded no fewer than 17 chances against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. That’s more than in any Premier League game - home or away - in their 2014/15 title-winning campaign.

But it wasn’t just the number of occasions City peppered the Chelsea goal that was alarming, it was the nature of the opportunities that the visitors were permitting. According to Opta, Chelsea conceded three clear chances from which City - or indeed any opponent - might have been expected to score.

That happened only once last season and coming on the back of Bafetimbi Gomis’s clear openings for Swansea last weekend means that Chelsea have now conceded more clear chances than any team in the Premier League so far this season. City have conceded none.

This is the underlying data indicating that while Mourinho chose to describe the 3-0 scoreline as “fake”, the truth is that we are still waiting to see the real Chelsea so far. And the warning signs have been there since pre-season.

A home defeat to Fiorentina just days before the campaign kicked off was dismissed as “a very good training session” and it does seem as if there has been a calculated plan to attempt to peak a little later this season in order to maximise Chelsea’s Champions League chances.

But if things don’t improve quickly, the Premier League title could slip away in the meantime. Mourinho is mathematically correct in stating that there are still 108 points to play for but while he told Sky Sports beforehand that the game was “far from being decisive or crucial”, defeat has seen City installed as the new title favourites.

Those choosing to regard this as a knee-jerk reaction might wish to consider whether they’d have backed Chelsea to finish five points clear of an improved City before a ball was kicked. That’s the deficit they are facing already. “It might be too much,” said Thierry Henry in the Sky Sports studio.

It certainly will be if they do not address these early failings. Mourinho was keen to stress that City’s two second-half goals came from individual errors, thus vindicating his decision to withdraw his captain at the break. However, it also highlighted the rather obvious point that Chelsea’s difficulties extend well beyond the ageing legs of their captain.

“The second goal is when Kompany’s marker loses a duel. The third goal is a ball we have in control and one player loses it in a dangerous position.” Branislav Ivanovic and Fabregas were the culprits. Both struggled. But Terry can expect the headlines when the media sift through the wreckage of Chelsea’s first defeat to a top-four rival since Mourinho’s return.

“Last week we’re talking about the doctor and this week we’re talking about John Terry,” said Henry of this media misdirection. “We’re not talking about Chelsea being exposed.” But swapping one problem for another didn’t work out well for the proverbial old lady and, ultimately, it will prove no solution for Chelsea either. Mourinho must restore order and fast.