LACKING FIREPOWER

Goals are the missing ingredient for Conte and Chelsea

ANTONIO Conte may have kept alive Chelsea’s hope of Champions League football, but he admitted on Saturday there has been something missing this season — goals.

The Blues manager achieved his 50th victory in the Premier League, a 1-0 win away to Swansea, thanks to Cesc Fabregas’s 50th goal in the competition, but Conte was dissatisfied by the London club’s fourth successive victory in all competitions.

The win in south Wales saw fifth-placed Chelsea close to within two points of capital rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a top-four finish. Spurs play Watford today.

But Eden Hazard, who set up Fabregas for his fourth-minute winner, is Chelsea’s leading scorer this season with a modest 12 goals.

“Our top scorer has scored only 12 goals, and if your best scorer has scored only 12 goals it means it is very difficult to fight for something this season,” said Conte.

“That is the reality — the stats speak very well. I think even today we could be more clinical to kill the game, but instead we kept the game in balance.

“Against West Ham, it happened the same. We dominated and created many chances, but we scored only one goal.

“It could have happened the same today. I think this season we are not clinical and in the last period we are winning but also playing a little bit where we could kill the game but don’t.”

Chelsea require Spurs to falter or for Liverpool to be so wrapped in their Champions League campaign they drop further points.

The Blues are grinding out wins, as they did against a spirited but toothless Swansea, but they are reliant on others to slip up, regardless of whatever they achieve themselves in their three remaining league matches.

“The situation is not in our hands, but the only way to put a bit of pressure to Tottenham is to get three points in every game,” said Conte.

“It is not simple to win a game in this league, but for sure our situation is not in our hands.”

While Chelsea look upwards for others to stumble, Swansea are looking downward with increasing nervousness.

This was their sixth game without a win and they are now just a point above the bottom three — the teams that will be relegated at the end of the season.

There was urgency and desperation enough in Swansea’s game, but little quality in front of goal and the biggest mark left by top scorer Jordan Ayew was on the neck of Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill when he arrived with a late elbow — an incident which referee Jon Moss somehow missed.

Both managers claimed it escaped their attention, too, with Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal more agitated by Moss’s refusal to award a penalty after a lunge by Cahill on Nathan Dyer.

“I saw it,” Carvalhal said. “The defender tries to get the ball but he doesn’t see Dyer. He takes the ball and Dyer together.

“Outside the area it’s a foul, so in the area it must be a penalty.”

He added: “In general I think we did enough to achieve minimum one point. If we carry on playing like that, it’s sure that we will win the points we need.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea are preparing to lure Toby Alderweireld across London this summer with the highly-rated defender failing to agree on a new deal with Tottenham.

Alderweireld will have one year left on his current contract and a bid in the region of £45 million (RM243 million) could be enough to see Spurs part ways with the centre-back.

The former Atletico Madrid man is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the Premier League and Chelsea are keen on bringing him to Stamford Bridge, according to The Sun.

Tottenham have the option to extend the 29-year-old’s contract by one year at the end of next season but it would simultaneously activate a £25 million buy-out clause.

The clause would allow Alderweireld to move to any club willing to match that price within a 14 day period.

With both parties unable to agree on a new deal, Tottenham may look to cash-in on Alderweireld while they can still can, albeit to rivals Chelsea.

Alderweireld joined Tottenham in the summer of 2015 after impressing while on loan at Southampton in the previous season.