While much of the early-season crisis talk has centred on Manchester United and Liverpool, Chelsea have quietly slipped below their biggest Premier League rivals, finding themselves ninth after nine games. Consistently inconsistent, Saturday's shock home defeat to Sunderland has left them at a crossroads, with plenty of issues to address if they are to avoid their season drifting into mediocrity.
"I think in general we were not good enough," head coach Enzo Maresca said in the wake of the oh-so-predictable late 2-1 loss to the newly-promoted Black Cats, where his side had been second-best throughout. "When you are not good enough in the Premier League we know that the consequences can be bad. I have said many times, when you are not able to win, it is important you do not lose."
That third defeat in nine games has deservedly left Chelsea down in mid-table, with no-one really sure of what the league's youngest squad is capable of; they feel as close to a full-blown crisis as they do to mounting a push for a top-four place.
Maresca, then, has plenty of work to do, but time is on his side and the fixture list could provide him with the ideal opportunity for the Blues to kickstart their campaign.