It was Ivanovic who played a poor pass to Cahill that put the England centre-half under pressure and resulted in his mistake that let in Sanchez for the first goal.

The defending was just as bad for the second and third goals, and Ivanovic was also booked for a foul on Alex Iwobi just outside the penalty area.

Conte switched to a back three in the second half and it can surely only be a matter of time until Ivanovic loses his place and César Azpilicueta is moved to the right, either as a full-back or a wing-back.

Despite refusing to single out his defence, Conte will be well aware that it is by far his biggest problem. Chelsea have conceded at least two goals in each of their last four games and have badly missed 35-year-old Terry, which tells its own story.

“I don’t want to talk about defenders, midfielders or strikers,” said Conte. “Because I think we lose and we win as a team. Today we understood – me first, then the players – that this league is very tough. We must improve a lot if we want to stay up [near the top], and not in the middle of the table.