Conte admits it might not be Chelsea’s year

ANTONIO CONTE has warned that Chelsea may struggle this season after his side’s title challenge was derailed at Crystal Palace.

The Blues were deservedly beaten at Selhurst Park in a game where the lack of depth in the champions’ squad was laid bare.

That isn’t something that will be lost on the disappointed Conte, who spent much of the summer lobbying for further reinforcements but still hopes that Alvaro Morata will be fit for early tomorrow morning’s visit of Roma.

And as Manchester City opened up a nine-point lead at the top of the Premier League, Conte warned that with a thinner squad the expectations of his team can’t be the same as last year.

“It is not one defeat but two in a row and for sure this is a not a positive moment for many reasons. We are playing without important players and every game we have a new injury. Moses’s injury is another big loss for us. A defeat is always a defeat… this season will be very difficult for us. For this reason we have to put 150% in. 100% won’t be enough.

“Last season is the past. Now it is another squad, different players, and for this reason if we compare last season we didn’t play Europa League or Champions League. This season we are facing four competitions and we are having a few problems doing this. When you have a few injuries, you are in trouble.”

And Chelsea’s title challenge is in trouble. After being outplayed by Manchester City things had already begun to look difficult but defeat at Crystal Palace is alto-

JOSE MOURINHO, rather predictably, wasn’t going to accept much responsibility for the nature of the match at Anfield. He wasn’t even going to accept that Manchester United’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool was not an entertaining game.

“Depends what for you is an entertaining game,” Mourinho snapped back. “One thing is an entertaining game for fans, another thing is entertaining game for the people who read football in a different way. That’s different. For me, the second half was a game of chess but my opponent didn’t open the door for me to win the game.”

As much as the Portuguese was inevitably trying to influence what was going to be said about his team, he actually said a lot himself, that could well foretell even more about United’s season – and why they may not be champions.

For a start, as should by no come as a surprise to nobody, Mourinho has no issue whatsoever with the kind of match that was seen at Anfield.

You get the sense that there was actually no extra edge to what he was saying in terms of entertainment. Mourinho does find that kind of game thoroughly entertaining, particularly if it ultimately involves his side frustrating a rival in a big game. He could watch that all day, and we’ve seen that through all of his career.

What was more interesting was the next line, though… “my opponent didn’t open the door for me to win the game”.

He later elaborated a bit more, when trying to make out that it was Liverpool who were more defensive – or more responsible for the game not opening up.

“I was waiting for Jurgen to change, I was waiting for him to go more attacking but he kept the three strong midfielders all the time where he was having control because I only had (Ander) Herrera and (Nemanja) Matic.

“Well, you [Liverpool] were at home and you didn’t move anything? I don’t know. I was waiting for that. He didn’t.

“I think he did well, honestly. He didn’t let the game break. (Jesse) Lingard and (Marcus) Rashford were waiting for the game to be broken but the game wasn’t broken.”

In looking to sum up the game like that, Mourinho actually summed up his entire football philosophy, his fundamental view on how to score and attack. The United manager essentially revealed just how reactive gether more damaging.

The last time Conte lost two consecutive league games it pushed him into the major change that virtually won them the title last season – switching to a 3-4-3 – but Chelsea don’t have the time to take such drastic action with hours on the training field increasingly scarce in a packed schedule.

Should Alvaro Morata return in midweek that solves one problem that emerged during the defeat at Selhurst Park, namely Michy Batshuayi.

While the Belgian has looked good against lower-league opposition and has had impact as a substitute, he was a complete non-factor against Crystal Palace. So poor, in fact, that even when chasing a lead Conte decided to withdraw Batshuayi and try to salvage a draw with no recognised centre-forward on the field.

Conte can no doubt improve the mood around the club with a win over Roma but increasingly it is looking as if the Champions League, not the Premier League, will be their best chance of success this season. – The Independent