ntonio Conte's Chelsea turned the Premier League title race into a procession in his first season, but worrying cracks are appearing that threaten to fatally undermine the current campaign.

The Stamford Bridge club accrued 93 points -- the second-highest tally in the Premier League era -- to finish seven points clear of nearest challengers Tottenham Hotspur and a whopping 15 ahead of Manchester City in 2016-2017.

But this term they are nine points adrift of pacesetters Manchester City, with three defeats already -- the same as they suffered in the whole of last season.

Now the 2012 European champions are licking their wounds after an embarrassing 3-0 Champions League pummelling by Roma.

So what's gone wrong?

A. Lack of signings

But moves for several targets failed to come off.

England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opted for Liverpool and Spanish striker Fernando Llorente elected to move to London rivals Tottenham, while Ross Barkley stayed at Everton.

Perhaps most gallingly of all, striker Romelu Lukaku chose Manchester United over a return to his former club.

Conte expressed his frustration at Chelsea's failure to land some of his top transfer targets, but made clear he had no intention of walking out.

B. Matic mistake?

Chelsea have been widely criticised for allowing defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic to join former boss Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Despite a strong-looking midfield roster that includes Bakayoko, Cesc Fabregas and N'Golo Kante, Matic's loss has been felt, particularly given that Kante has missed a chunk of fixtures with a hamstring injury.

Continue...: https://eaunde..com.ng/2017/11/roma-3-0-chelsea-see-reasons-why.html

capital letter RUBBISH.