Roman on warpath
FURIOUS Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich held meetings with the club’s executives until 1am (9am Malaysian time) on Saturday at Stamford Bridge after their worrying defeat by Liverpool.
The Chelsea owner was angered at the performance by his expensively assembled team – and that will only crank up the pressure on new manager Antonio Conte, who failed to turnaround the obvious flaws in the squad, which were brutally exposed by Friday’s 2-1 loss.
Conte was only appointed in the summer but he is unhappy that some of the players he wanted in the transfer window were not provided.
And he has already warned the Chelsea board that his squad needs major reinforcements if they are to challenge for major honours.
Those flaws had been disguised by a good start to the season but in their first real test of the campaign, Chelsea were outplayed by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Conte is certain to be given funds in January to strengthen his squad – after players he had singled out in the summer, including Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Roma’s Alessio Romagnoli, as well as strikers Romelu Lukaku of Everton and Alvato Morata of Real Madrid, proved to be out of reach.
Chelsea brought in N’Golo Kante, Michy Batshuayi, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso before the transfer window but there are concerns now that influx was not enough to properly improve a team that finished 10th in the table last year.
“It has been a good response since Friday. During training I’ve seen the right intensity, the right commitment from the players,” Conte said.
“The message I have given them is the same as that I gave after the game – we must pay attention in every moment. Details change results.
“We analysed the game together and we’ve seen the positive things and the bad things. It’s important to restart and find a good spirit.” – Express Newspapers