Conte’s fixture gripe but stars take a flyer

ANTONIO CONTE’S complaints about Chelsea’s gruelling fixture schedule did not deter his players from dashing abroad on their day off.

Eden Hazard crossed the Channel to Lille to watch his native Belgium lose in the Davis Cup final on Sunday, just 24 hours after a 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

Tiemoue Bakayoko flew to Monaco’s Stade Louis II on Sunday where he saw his former club lose to Paris Saint-Germain.

Chelsea’s game at Anfield was their third away game in eight days, a sequence which included a Champions League 5,000- mile round trip to Qarabag in the Azerbaijan capital Baku.

Conte said: ‘To have only one day to rest and only one day to prepare for this big game is not simple, is not easy. I think also it’s not right. We play Qarabag on Wednesday, we get back to London at 5am or 6am on Thursday and then have a game against Liverpool on Saturday. Is this normal? I don’t think so.

‘If people want more balance in this league they must pay great attention when preparing the fixtures.’

Hazard and Bakayoko were back in London for training yesterday.

Meanwhile Chelsea will hand £230 each to supporters who their chartered train left stranded at a Liverpool station until after midnight on Saturday night.

Almost 200 people faced not getting back to Euston Station until 6.30am when Chelsea’s 8.40pm train from Liverpool South Parkway left for London despite missing two shuttle buses full of travelling fans.