There is only one part of Chelsea that’s working as it’s supposed to right now – and it’s not enough to win us game on its own.

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Chelsea fell to defeat against Sunderland on Sunday, another brutal result which puts everyone into a bad mood ahead of the international break.

It was hard to pick out any positives from that, but Dom Smith wrote for the Evening Standard about the only part of the team which able to get anything done right now.

Jordan Henderson works well in midfield for Blues

Smith contrasted the moments of panic from some players with the calm and authority showed by Jordan Henderson, who was playing his 700th game, against the team where he came through the academy.

“Henderson, though, was sensible in possession when others around him were not. He kept the ball moving, with one-touch passes into feet, relieving the pressure Chelsea were under in one of English football’s more hostile grounds,” Smith wrote.

“A midfield of Moises Caicedo plus either Romeo Lavia or Henderson or both, as was deployed on Sunday, is just about the only thing functioning as it should be for Chelsea right now.”

We will need more than a functioning midfield if we’re to achieve anything this season.

In other news…

Joao Pedro’s absence is absolutely killing Chelsea right now, and the plain win/loss stats are showing that more starkly than anything.

Xabi Alonso made an interesting sub against Sunderland and explained it to Chelsea TV after the game.

Chelsea were very poor in the game, without doubt, but part of their issue came from some very questionable decisions around one penalty given and another not given.