CONTE’S JIBE: YOU CAN BE LUCKY & WIN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
ANTONIO CONTE has taunted Liverpool by insisting: lucky teams can win the Champions League, but only the best lift the title.
The Reds head to Chelsea tomorrow on a high after reaching the Champions League final following their dramatic two-legged triumph over Italians Roma.
But Jurgen Klopp’s side have never been serious contenders this season to win the Premier League, which Conte led Chelsea to last year. And the Blues boss said: “In the league, you have 38 games to show you deserve to win it, to show you are the best during the season.
“In the Champions League, when you reach the last 16 or quarter-finals or semi-finals, one situation – positive or negative – can change your future in this competition. For this reason, I think that to win the Champions League you must be more lucky. You must be good to deserve it, but at the same time you must be lucky. “One referee’s decision can settle your future totally. In the league, over 38 games, usually the team who deserves to win it wins it. Luck is always important in every competition, but when you have the possibility to play 38 games, you can show you are the best.
“In a little tournament, like the FA Cup, or League Cup, or Champions League, or Europa League, sometimes one decision can move your future. Sometimes you are lucky or not.”
Mo Salah has enjoyed a stunning 43-goal debut season at Anfield and will return to Stamford Bridge for the first time as the newly-crowned double player of the season. His form has sparked inevitable questions about why Chelsea let him join Roma permanently in 2016, four months after Conte was appointed Stamford Bridge boss.
But the Italian laughed: “Was it my decision? No, no, no. I have never spoken about Salah because I think the situation was very, very clear. No one at Chelsea asked me about him.
“No, I don’t want to take this responsibility. If you put also this on me, I’m in trouble! Put that on the person who has to take responsibility.”