Chelsea crumbled as Roma moved to the top of Champions League Group C with a 3-0 victory at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night.
Stephan El Shaarawy scored after 38 seconds and pounced on an Antonio Rudiger error to make it 2-0 after 36 minutes.
Diego Perotti struck a fine third after 63 minutes and there would be no Chelsea comeback this time as Roma moved on to eight points, one more than the Blues.
Kante is the glue to this team. The binder to the notepad, the ice to the gem, the jalapeños to the nachos. Without him were lost. Fuming 😤
— George Benson (@MrGeorgeBenson) October 31, 2017
El Shaarawy. For his clinical finishes. Honourable mentions for Edin Dzeko and Perotti, plus Aleksandar Kolarov.
Roma took the lead after 38 seconds when Kolarov and Dzeko, two former Manchester City men, combined and a stroke of luck saw El Shaarawy strike a crisp effort which left Chelsea chasing for the rest of the game.
N’Golo Kante is back in training following his hamstring injury, but the midfielder was not risked, not even among the substitutes, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. The diminutive Kante’s absence creates a sizeable void and Chelsea are not the same team without him.
Kante’s only two goals last season came against United and Chelsea will hope for another on Sunday. But the Frenchman cannot be expected to solve all their problems and the defensive display will have alarmed Antonio Conte.
Roma
Alisson: 7 (out of 10)
Alessandro Florenzi 7
Federico Fazio 7
Juan Jesus 7
Aleksandar Kolarov 8
Radja Nainggolan 8
Daniele De Rossi 7
Kevin Strootman 7
Edin Dzeko 8
Stephan El Shaarawy 8
Diego Perotti 8
Substitutes
Gerson (on for El Shaarawy 75) 6
Kostas Manolas (for Florenzi 76) 6
Lorenzo Pellegrini (for Perotti 87) 6
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois 7
Gary Cahill 5
David Luiz 5
Antonio Rudiger 4
Cesar Azpilicueta 5
Cesc Fabregas 5
Tiemoue Bakayoko 5
Marcos Alonso 5
Eden Hazard 6
Alvaro Morata 5
Pedro 5
Substitutes
Willian (for Cahill 56) 5
Danny Drinkwater (for Fabregas 71) 6
Michy Batshuayi (for Morata 75) 6
Fiorentina v Roma (Serie A, November 5)
Chelsea v Manchester United (Premier League, November 5)
