Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich 'holds crisis talks with officials'

The Russian was said to be furious with the display of Antonio Conte's side, as they were outclassed at home by Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side.

Goals from Dejan Lovren and Jordan Henderson fired Liverpool into a 2-0 lead before Diego Costa responded after the break.

The Express report that Conte is already under pressure, having taken over in the summer, though the Italian is said to be unhappy with Chelsea's transfer business.

While Chelsea welcomed N'Golo Kante, Michy Batshuayi, David Luiz (who all cost £30m+) and Marcos Alonso, the report claims that Conte did not get the players he wanted.

The former Juventus boss openly admitted that signing Luiz on deadline day was a last-minute decision after struggling in the market beforehand.

"When we take the decision about the players, we always take the decision together - me and the club," Conte said.

"I told you that this transfer market was very difficult for us to reach our targets, but at the last minute, on the last day, there was this situation which was good for me and the club to improve the squad.

"For this reason, we bought David Luiz. We invested in David, and I'm very happy. We took a player with a great personality, good technique and who likes to play."

Conte has reportedly warned the board that his squad needs further strengthening in January.

Why are we not surprised? One blip and Roman is rumoured to be throwing daggers at a picture of Conte in his office. And while we can't see Conte getting the chop anytime soon, history tells us the Italian cannot afford a prolonged slump.

While victory over Leicester would ease Abramovich's concerns, the club will already be thinking about the weekend, with a trip to Arsenal on Saturday evening.

It could be another late night in the board room if Chelsea lose at the Emirates, which could potentially see them eight points behind Manchester City, but as Conte's protests suggest, perhaps the title was always beyond them.