Chelsea's squad crisis is already threatening to derail title defence

LONDON -- At Cobham on Friday, Antonio Conte was asked whether the Premier League would have to wait until Eden Hazard and Tiemoue Bakayoko returned to full fitness to see the real Chelsea. "I hope and want to see the real Chelsea tomorrow," he replied. "Now the season is starting and we must be ready, even with many players missing." The real Chelsea took 45 minutes to appear at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but the Premier League doesn't wait for any team, champions or not. Burnley's second away win in two years -- and particularly the manner in which it played out -- has put Conte's men in a significant hole as they head into a run of fixtures that would test them at the best of times. These, quite clearly, are not the best of times. Conte angrily batted away the suggestion that his youthful squad selection -- 20-year-old Jeremie Boga making his Premier League debut and a bench including six outfielders with an average age of just under 21 -- ...