NEW YEAR, SAME OLD FEUD

Asked if he still had the passion for the game, Mourinho said: “Because I don’t behave as a clown on the touchline it means I lost my passion? You don’t have to behave like a crazy guy.”

Conte responded: “I think he has to see himself in the past, maybe he was speaking about himself in the past?

“Maybe sometimes, someone forgets what they said or his behaviour and sometimes I think there is, I don’t know the name, demenza senile, when you are a bit (tapped his head).” Chelsea later claimed he meant amnesia.

After United’s FA Cup tie that evening, Mourinho said: “What never happened to me is to be suspended for match-fixing.”

Conte said: “I think before you make this type of comment, to hurt another person, you must pay great attention. You show you are a little man.”

Conte said: “I won’t forget his words. This is not a problem from the club, it’s a problem between me and him.”