A few of the locals called out to Antonio Conte as he trudged up the ramp towards the Chelsea team bus post-match, head bowed to avoid eye contact and hands sunk deep in his pockets, but most had sensed it was no time to bid a fond farewell. The Italian had that thunderous look about him, the kind that sets in when his team have been beaten. Except this had been a humiliation, and an occasion which had left him publicly questioning the most basic qualities expected of his players: hunger, desire and commitment to compete.
The second-half surrender at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday betrayed a team who had lost hope, their conviction eroded by a mixture of defensive chaos and attacking profligacy which had left them playing catch-up to Roma. The reaction, Conte was quick to point out, was unacceptable. Although some may cling to the belief the emphatic loss can prompt a similar reaction to the infamous thrashing endured at Arsenal less than two months into last season, the particular quirks of Chelsea’s campaign feel very different this time round.
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