Sleepless in Chelsea: Antonio Conte has to find a solution 'very very soon'

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte had recently revealed that he has a rather tough time falling asleep after losses.  Presumably then, especially given the ease with which Chelsea were outplayed by Arsenal, Conte has yet to catch any winks since Saturday's shambolic 3-0 loss.

"(After a defeat like this) I don't sleep for sure. It's normal. After this game, this defeat, it's normal for me not to sleep, not just on the Saturday night but for two nights. But when I don't sleep I reflect."

"(Instead of sleeping) For sure I will be watching the game. I have to find the solution very, very soon because against Arsenal we played a very bad game."

As before, Conte refused to name names and point the finger.  At least in public.

"It's right when I talk with my players (after the game) to keep what I tell them (private). It's normal to do this because these are the views of the dressing room and you must respect this. But for sure I was angry, but so were the players because we weren't satisfied in our game and our performance."

"I don't want to speak about defenders, midfielders or strikers because we win and lose as a team."

Even as a team, the road ahead will not be easy.  The performances against Arsenal and Liverpool last week showed that there's plenty of room for improvement.

"We must continue to think in the same way - it's important. But against Arsenal we understood first me, and then the players, that it's very tough and we have to improve a lot if we want to stay high in the table and not in the middle of the table."

"Arsenal showed they were stronger than us. I think when you want to win you must have a good balance when you attack and when you defend. It's important to work together in defensive situations and in offensive situations, not with only the strikers and wingers, the midfielders and then only the defenders. We must work together. I know we can improve a lot and it's important to understand this."

"It's important to take this experience as an opportunity to understand that if we want to come back very soon to fight for something important in England, it's important to improve, to show during the game that you're a great team not only on paper."

-Antonio Conte; source: Evening Standard

Conte did not immediately confirm or deny any lineup or tactical changes, but surely, something has to change — at the bare minimum, simply returning the squad to the intensity seen in pre-season and the first few games of the season should be a step in the right direction.