There has been some disappointment and criticism of Chelsea expressed online by supporters after the Blues were beaten by west London neighbours Fulham on Boxing Day.

That in itself is perfectly understandable. If your team loses a football game, it does not matter how successful you are, or have been, fans are always going to be frustrated. However, some of the reaction to Chelsea's defeat - although very frustrating - has been over the top.

It is the Blues' third defeat of the Premier League season. Before the loss to Fulham, Chelsea had only been beaten by Liverpool and Manchester City. And it is fair to say, Fulham are no mugs - quite the opposite, actually, with the Cottagers enjoying a really strong campaign under Marco Silva.

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Criticism of Enzo Maresca is understandable. It is probably the first time since being appointed as head coach that he has arguably done something notably wrong. Making just three of his available 10 substitutes in the last two matches - both in which Chelsea have struggled in - has sparked criticism online.

You can always criticise the manager but the positives we have witnessed from the Italian certainly outweigh the negatives up until now. That, I don't think you can argue too much about.

With the January transfer window officially opening in a few days' time, the defeat has probably come at the worst possible time for Chelsea. With the window so close to opening, the inevitability of kneejerk, over-the-top reactions increases. There was actually one fan that said Chelsea need to strengthen 'desperately' next month.

While this is such a tiny minority of supporters, the fact it is even being brought up is ludicrous given how Chelsea have fared so far this season. The Blues sit in second-place after 18 matches, albeit with the chance of moving down to third if Arsenal are to beat Ipswich Town.

The fact Chelsea have even been considered to be in the Premier League title race, despite Maresca's refusal to be involved, is remarkable given where the squad is right now; how little time they have worked with each other and how young the majority of the players are. The group of players Maresca has at his disposal are a really talented bunch and they have seemingly all bought into what the head coach wants to do at Stamford Bridge.

While adding players in January is a possibility, it is understood that Chelsea will be relatively quiet on the incoming front. Depth in the squad is not needed - that much is clear. Chelsea have at least two players that can play in each position - and talented ones at that; in some areas, they have three.

The only way you can see the club looking to add depth is if there are players that leave the Bridge next month. The likes of Axel Disasi, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Cesare Casadei, Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka have all been linked with a move away from the club in January, so if any of them were to leave, then the door may open for the Blues to scour the market.

The central midfield area is probably where Chelsea are weakest in terms of numbers. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez seem to be Maresca's go-to midfielders with Romeo Lavia struggling due to injury problems yet again this season. Elsewhere, Casadei has been used in the UEFA Conference League but not in the Premier League, while Chukwuemeka is not trusted by the Italian.

What happens next month is a mystery at the moment, but nothing drastic is expected to, or needs to, happen at Chelsea, who continue to be way ahead of expectations despite the Boxing Day disappointment. Thirteen points better of than this time 12 months ago. Do not forget that.