Bakayoko undeservedly blamed for Conte's tactical mistake

On the surface, Antonio Conte's decision to reshuffle his team at half-time gave off the impression that Tiemoue Bakayoko was solely to blame for Chelsea's woes in a first half that saw West Ham take an unexpected lead.

It was somewhat harsh, considering Chelsea's poor start could've been blamed on a number of players.

But he was ultimately sacrificed as a result of Conte's tactical mistake after being deployed in a conservative formation alongside N'Golo Kante during an encounter that didn't necessarily beg for two defensive midfielders on the pitch. Especially against a defensive West Ham side that hasn't scored more than one goal in a match since the end of October.

The French midfielder was swapped for Pedro at the break as Chelsea searched for an offensive spark that never materialised. Following the 1-0 loss, Conte declared his side was out of the title race.

Removing Bakayoko at the break added to the mounting frustration from those who associate themselves with Chelsea over his inability to live up to the hefty £40-million price tag paid to AS Monaco last summer. His premature removal also occurred on the heels of criticism over his inability to maintain his concentration and adapt to the Premier League.

The stats don't suggest Bakayoko was awful Saturday (90.9 pass success and winning four aerial duels), but the midfielder really could've benefited from a positive outing following a discouraging Champions League performance.

Chelsea legend Frank Lampard didn't mince his words when he accused Bakayoko of "sleeping" in matches in the wake of a mid-week draw with Atletico Madrid in which his inability to track Saul Niguez led to the Spanish side scoring the opener.

“He sleeps,” Lampard said, according to the Independent. “His concentration goes and at this level if you sleep for a second and it's an easy goal for Atletico.

“I don't know with Bakayoko. I think it's well documented that he hasn't settled quickly at Chelsea and English football in the Premier League as well and he has to come to grips with that."

Bakayoko certainly didn't endear himself to Chelsea supporters when he was overlooked by France manager Didier Deschamps in November and appeared to take issue with teammate N'Golo Kante, as well as other compatriots, who were selected ahead of him.

“I am proud that they are selected, I would like to be with them. But I’m not worse than them," he said.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Yet, perhaps the biggest burden working against Bakayoko was Chelsea's willingness to part ways with a reliable defensive midfielder such as Nemanja Matic - who was shipped off to Manchester United - in favour of taking a gamble on the Rennes product who'd just become a regular for a Monaco side that defied the odds to win Ligue 1 last term.

Life in Monaco was far from ideal in the beginning after a rift developed between himself and Leonardo Jardim almost immediately after he signed on from Rennes. The Portuguese manager pulled the plug on Bakayoko's debut just over a half out into the encounter and did not include him in the first team for over two months.

Bakayoko eventually took it upon himself to implement changes to both his play on the pitch and attitude away from football before winning over Jardim and evolving into a regular for Monaco.

There's no reason to believe he can't do the same and win over critics if Chelsea is willing to afford him the necessary time to develop and acclimate himself to a style of play in England that has historically proved difficult for players with far more experience than Bakayoko.