CONTE FEUD WITH ‘JUDAS’ BOILS OVER

London, March 14: Antonio Conte slammed Manchester United’s cynical attempts to intimidate Chelsea in his side’s bitter FA Cup quarter-final win, but Jose Mourinho hit back at his rival by insisting he remains the Blues’ best ever manager.

While the Chelsea crowd taunted Mourinho as a “Judas”, Chelsea boss Conte was furious with United’s no-holds barred approach.

Ander Herrera was sent off for two fouls on Eden Hazard in Monday’s 1-0 victory and Marcos Rojo escaped a red card for a spiteful second half stamp on Hazard.

Asked what he made of United’s tactics, Conte said: “My players want to play football, but for 25 minutes it was impossible.

“I think only that Eden got a lot of kicks. I don’t think I’m crazy.

“He started the match receiving kicks and he finished it receiving kicks.

“This is the truth and I don’t think one person can say this didn’t happen. It’s not football for me.

“It could be United’s tactic. Sometimes when you play against players with great talent you try to intimidate them.

“The referee must try to protect these type of players because they can go out with a bad injury.”

It was a chastening return to west London for former Chelsea boss Mourinho, who endured his old club’s fans calling him “Judas” and chanting “you’re not special anymore”.