Furious Conte fires a volley at his critics
ANTONIO CONTE rounded on his critics and defended his tactics after a lame defeat.
Chelsea did not manage a single shot on target as they lost for the fourth time in five league games and slipped further adrift of the top four. Sky Sports and Sportsmail pundit Jamie Redknapp slammed Chelsea’s negative approach as ‘anti-football’ and ‘a crime against football’, adding: ‘It was like they didn’t want to go forward at all. Chelsea gave them three points before they started.’
Fellow pundit Gary Neville also weighed into the reigning champions, saying: ‘They’re just watching Manchester City play. They’re like mannequins. It’s painful to watch, this. In terms of a Premier League game, it’s unacceptable.’
Conte admitted that Chelsea’s players had followed his instructions but defended the game plan after seeing Arsenal suffer successive 3-0 defeats to City last week.
He said: ‘You have to accept every criticism, but I am not so stupid to play open against Manchester City and to lose 3-0 or 4-0. If I remember well, a few days ago, Arsenal played twice against them and then you criticise (Arsene) Wenger because they concede three goals in only 30 minutes.
‘The pundit has to use the head to understand when you speak about tactics because I think you must have knowledge and not only to speak in a stupid way.’
Bernardo Silva broke Chelsea’s resistance after the break, and Conte’s side couldn’t muster a response as they fell 25 points behind City.
‘They followed my instructions,’ said Conte. ‘We prepared in this way. When you play against City you have to use your brain, otherwise you risk finishing the game in a bad way. For sure, to concede the goal after 30 seconds of the second half was a pity because then it was very difficult for us to come back.
‘We must have a big regret for the defeats against Bournemouth, Watford and Manchester United. But not today. Manchester City are incredible on the ball and 25 points is a big difference.’
City completed more passes than any Premier League team since Opta stats began in 2003, and remain on course to break Chelsea’s record total of 95 points. However, Guardiola said: ‘What really matters is to be champions. I never spoke to the players about the records. If you think about the records, you forget what you have to do.
‘It was quite similar to how Chelsea played against Barcelona in the Champions League but we said be patient and move the ball quickly. In all aspects we were better. We didn’t concede one shot on target and we created enough chances to win.’