Football
Mark Worrall, Chelsea blogger 7y

Clinical Chelsea pose nice selection headache for Antonio Conte

It may have been billed as a friendly, but the clinical fashion in which Chelsea dismantled Arsenal in the 3-0 victory over their London rivals at Beijing's Birds Nest Stadium this weekend served as a timely reminder of the qualities Antonio Conte's Premier League title-winning side possess.

Conte's starting XI was a marker of the Italian's intent to take the contest seriously -- only missing wantaway striker Diego Costa, who has clearly played his last game for the club, and injured midfielder Eden Hazard. Otherwise, the Chelsea team had a familiar, cohesive look about it.

In goal, Thibaut Courtois; regular centre-back trio Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta; wing-backs Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses; centre-midfield duo N'Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas; Pedro and Willian flanking lone striker Michy Batshuayi. Players that need no introduction to each other savaged a disjointed Arsenal and their superior fitness levels were also telling on a muggy Beijing evening.

Chelsea's three high-profile summer signings -- defender Antonio Rudiger, midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko and striker Alvaro Morata, who collectively cost the club upwards of £130 million -- were not ready to make their debuts, and on this showing, it's hard to understand why prior to their acquisitions there had been so much browbeating among Blues supporters, and indeed Conte, about the lack of transfer activity at Stamford Bridge.

Willian and the outstanding Batshuayi, two players who were on the periphery of Conte's thinking last season, scored the goals which sealed victory and, with the start of the new Premier League campaign less than three weeks away, their performances will have given the Chelsea manager food for thought as he contemplates tactics and team selection.

Morata, at around £60m, has become the Blues record signing. The 24-year-old Spain international has been brought in from Real Madrid as a direct replacement for Costa, yet the recent form of Belgium forward Batshuayi, who might have had a hat trick against Arsenal but saw a strike ruled out for offside, is compelling.

If Conte were to consider playing two up front, the Morata-Batshuayi combination could prove to be a winner. With two friendlies still to play against Bayern Munich and Inter Milan ahead of another showdown with Arsenal, this time in the more familiar surrounds of Wembley where the sides will contest the Community Shield, it will be interesting to see if the Blues boss experiments with this option.

But his tactical puzzle doesn't stop with Willian, whose place will be at risk when Hazard returns, and Batshuayi. In defence, the arrival of first-choice Germany international centre-back Rudiger, a £34m signing from Roma, suggests Conte is planning a change to accommodate the 24-year-old.

How that will manifest itself is open to debate. The logical option would see Rudiger deployed alongside Cahill, who has succeeded John Terry as club captain, and Luiz, with ever-versatile Azpilicueta shifting out to right wing-back at the expense of Victor Moses, who incidentally also had an excellent game against Arsenal.

The inclusion of Bakayoko is much more straightforward. The 22-year-old France international, who arrived at the Bridge following an exceptional season with Monaco, looks certain to partner Kante in Chelsea's midfield engine room. Nemanja Matic, who like Costa hasn't travelled to China with the Blues squad, is set to depart and Fabregas once again may find first XI chances hard to come by.

Chelsea's return to European action means that Conte could find himself fielding two sides throughout the season: a core XI of virtual untouchables who will set out to defend the Premier League title, and a team to contest the group stages of the Champions League and domestic cups.

It's an interesting scenario for the players to embrace, and one that Morata will be familiar with given that he spent last season playing for what essentially was Zinedine Zidane's second string XI at the Bernabeu.

Conte of course has the capability to manage players his way, just ask Costa for confirmation of that. Selection posers may prove to be a headache for the 47-year-old, but there can be no doubt that it's a nice situation to be in.

Chelsea already appear to be in very good shape for the challenges that lie ahead.

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