Did Chelsea's Defeat of Spurs Show Thibaut Courtois to Be the Blues' Weak Link?

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — Chelsea may have been all level at 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur at half-time on Saturday, but Antonio Conte wasn't going to settle for that. The manager knew his side had problems, and he needed to make full use of the 15-minute interval to put things right.

Team talks are one thing, but getting players tuned in can sometimes require a different approach. It was five minutes or so before the second half would kick off; the only players on the pitch were the substitutes from each side attempting to outdo their team-mates with some showboating as they passed the time. Then Thibaut Courtois appeared with a member of the Chelsea backroom staff.

They jogged over to the Shed End goal that Courtois would be tending for the next 45 minutes, and the Belgian quickly began running through the motions of another warm-up session.

Courtois was involved in the usual ball-to-hand drills, but this one came with a difference; a big part of this impromptu training session seemed to focus on his feet. The goalkeeper was receiving the ball along the ground, controlling it before passing back to his coach. There were some longer clearances from goal too—the sort Courtois hadn't done enough of in the opening period that had been so largely dominated by Spurs.

As much as Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele's presence in the middle was stifling Chelsea, so too was Courtois' poor distribution. When Chelsea were being penned in and struggling to win the ball back, a large part of it was because of Courtois' inability to distribute effectively.

Goal kicks followed the same routine, with Cesar Azpilicueta receiving the ball close to his own corner flag. Heung-Min Son or one of his Spurs team-mates would then press him to the touchline, where Azpilicueta would be forced to hoof it free. And so started another Spurs attack, with the ball won in midfield and sent right back to where it came from.

This continued for much of the first half, and those Chelsea supporters sat behind Courtois in the Matthew Harding Stand were making no secret of their frustration. At one point, David Luiz seemed to remonstrate with Courtois about his unwillingness to get the ball clear effectively.

Chelsea were inviting Spurs on to them, and the visitors didn't need second invitation. They punished Chelsea after 11 minutes, and had it not been for Pedro's wonder goal on the stroke of Michael Oliver's half-time whistle—largely against the run of play—Mauricio Pochettino's side could have been looking at a first win at Stamford Bridge since 1990.

Indeed, they should have won the game based on those opening 45 minutes. They were the better team in every aspect, seemingly targeting Chelsea's weak spots to get something out of the game. It was working perfectly.

Pedro's goal clawed Chelsea back into it, though. It gave them momentum at a crucial stage, changing the complexion of the game to give Spurs 15 minutes to start doubting themselves. During the interval, the static nature of being inside a dressing room would have started eating away at the psyche of the same players who, six months earlier, had thrown away their title challenge in west London.

Conte knew that, and with Courtois coming out early in attempt to eradicate the problems he was causing, it was a sign the manager was going for the jugular. Chelsea weren't going to be spectators for another 45 minutes; they were going to win this game from a position of strength. For that, Courtois needed to clean his act up.

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That was the impression at least and was something Bleacher Report put to Conte at the final whistle after a Victor Moses strike gave the Blues a 2-1 win, although the manager suggested he sees things a differently where his goalkeeper is concerned.

"No, because we work on this aspect," Conte responded when asked whether he was concerned by Courtois' inability to get Chelsea moving from the back, instead tending to put his side on the back foot. "It's logical when we are working only four months [that things won't be perfect]. I want to play from the back, and I ask this of my players.

"If someone thinks that the fault is the player, then no. The fault is mine. It's always mine. I want to see some situations that we work on during the training sessions, and I want to see [Courtois trying to play]. We can improve a lot to start from the back, but it's important to start."

It was a defiant message from Conte, put across in the eloquent tone we're growing used to hearing from him. His message was that Chelsea remain a work in progress and that Courtois is only going to improve with time.

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But is he? A fine goalkeeper Courtois may be, but he isn't a footballer. Since he burst on to the scene, it's not his ball skills that have endeared the Belgian to his hoards of fans. It's been his performances in the traditional sense of what we expect from goalkeepers. We've salivated over his wonder saves and the sharp reflexes that have brought them about; what we haven't seen is him contribute to the team's attacking play.

It's a problem Pep Guardiola was quick to deal with at Manchester City. Like for like as a goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo isn't Joe Hart's equal, but as a player, he's superior. There have been some problems with him settling into the Premier League, yet overall, Bravo is doing the job Guardiola asks of him. He keeps City ticking over possession from the back and not allowing opponents opportunities to press them effectively in dangerous areas.

Bravo plays with a freedom Premier League fans aren't used to seeing from a No. 1. Not only is he comfortable in possession, but he has a footballer's brain that helps him read situations to see what his best options are. Bravo is all the things Courtois isn't.

An evident tactic from Chelsea on Saturday was to use Azpilicueta as an outsource from goal kicks. More often than not, it was the Spaniard Courtois picked out, even when Spurs had worked this out after a few minutes. Still, with every goal kick, Courtois reverted to type and followed what we can presume to be the instructions of his manager prior to kick-off.

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Courtois was too robotic. Whereas he reacts to the game when springing to save shots and collect crosses, he didn't seem able to adapt against Spurs. And that's where the concern is with him. We know what a fine goalkeeper the Belgian is, although that doesn't mean he is the suitable stopper for Conte's Chelsea.

As much as Courtois' presence is a symbol of Chelsea's strength, he has the look of being the Blues' Achilles' heel for the fact he struggles with the ball at his feet. Spurs got so much out of Chelsea for many reasons in that first half; close to the top of the list was Courtois' ineffectiveness.

For a team that hadn't conceded for 10 hours of Premier League football before Eriksen's beautifully executed shot from the edge of the box, it has to be a concern for Conte despite his comments on the contrary. The way Chelsea play football and the way the Italian expects them to evolve means a world-class goalkeeper isn't a prerequisite.

It's an odd statement yet one that carries truth. Chelsea aren't conceding goals. Nor are they having their goal peppered with shots throughout matches. Before facing Spurs, Courtois had been forced into making just nine saves in six games. That's less than a shot for every half of football they have played since the end of September.

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With or without Courtois between the sticks, even if those shots had resulted in goals, Chelsea would have still finished with six wins in six matches, thus reinforcing the point that Chelsea need their goalkeeper to provide something different.

When Hart was replaced by Bravo at Manchester City, many scoffed at Guardiola's tactics. Here we are a few months on, however, and we can see the wisdom in the City manager's decision-making in Courtois. The way the Catalan has City playing doesn't require heroic feats from goalkeepers, and Chelsea find themselves in a similar position.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.