When Thomas Tuchel said his side had to be able to tolerate mistakes against Leeds United, he probably did not have conceding two goals in mind. From Edouard Mendy's error in the vicinity of Bredon Aaronson to slack tracking of runs for Leeds' second and third goals, it was quite simply not good enough from Chelsea.
It was symptomatic of the performance in general, particularly the opening 45 minutes. Conor Gallagher and Jorginho were overrun in midfield, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz were unable to get involved in the game, and the defence was left exposed. The home side got their tails up and never looked back.
"When you go to Everton in the first match of the season and then Leeds, you know what is coming," said Tuchel ahead of the game. "It is a very emotional crowd. They're a high-pressing team, and they play with high intensity throughout the whole pitch.
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"They have a high tolerance for mistakes, so we need also to have a high tolerance because we cannot play without mistakes. There are spaces we want to find to accelerate our game and attack. The spaces are only for a short time because they sprint like hell! We need to be fast with our decision-making. They have the speed up-front to hurt us."
Tuchel's assessment proved correct, and the Blues had few answers to the relentlessness of Jesse Marsch's side. After an impressive outing against Spurs, it was an opportunity for Chelsea to set their stall for the season.
Regulars in the side struggled to prove to supporters they were worth their place, and Gallagher found himself in a difficult situation on his first start for the club. Tuchel noted the academy product did not need to prove anything to him on Sunday afternoon but hoped to be vindicated in his selection.
Tuchel said: "It's a huge opportunity, N'Golo Kante is out, and Conor is more or less the same profile, so he gets the spot. Mateo Kovacic is injured, so that's his game today, and he does not have to prove to me today that he is capable.
"He needs time to adapt. It is a new situation for him because there is a lot of quality in our midfield. At the moment, it feels maybe a bit worse for him than it is because the game is coming, and it is the moment where we have one game a week."
"He came from the bench in the last two matches, and now he starts. From next week, the league games come in midweek, then Champions League, so he will get his matches and hopefully, he can prove me right today."
While any club would feel the impact of N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic being missing from the squad, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech were later used in the centre of the pitch, albeit advanced of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, which was telling. Chelsea were looking to change the game, which was required, but making use of players who appear to be considering their Stamford Bridge future leaves some questions.
As things stand, do Chelsea feel they are able to allow such players to leave or do players like Anthony Gordon or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang need to arrive first? Neither would have provided the answer to Tuchel's problems at Elland Road, but new options appear to be needed if there is a reliance on players looking for pastures new.
The Blues looked lacking in defence, midfield and attack and seemingly did not have the options they required to change things.
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