Head of the class
ALL FIVE ENGLISH TEAMS TOP THEIR GROUPS
ANTONIO CONTe must be sick of Manchester City. Three weeks after Pep Guardiola’s side defeated Chelsea in their own backyard, two former City players tore the Blues apart last night.
edin Dzeko scored twice — one a stunning volley — while Aleksandar Kolarov hit Roma’s first and provided two assists as they pushed Chelsea to the limit.
The away side’s contribution to this scintillating match only told half the story. There cannot have been a better sporting spectacle anywhere in europe last night.
This Champions League night probably came as a welcome relief to Conte after two Premier League defeats on the trot cast doubt on Chelsea’s title defence.
There have been no such problems in europe for the Blues, and they knew another three points here — to go with two earlier wins — would see them take a huge step towards the last 16.
Whether this squad is strong enough to make an impression at the business end of the competition is a different question.
Conte has bemoaned the lack of depth in his squad — a problem worsened by injuries.
And the Chelsea manager blasted Jose Mourinho last night after the Manchester United manager had appeared to call him a whinger.
Following United’s win at Benfica, Mourinho referred to coaches who ‘ moan and cry’ about their injury problems.
And in response to the jibe, Conte said: ‘If he is speaking about me, I think he has to think about his team and start looking at himself, not others.
‘A lot of time, Mourinho has to see what happened at Chelsea. A lot of time, also last season. He should think about his team.’
Starting Alvaro Morata last night, just three weeks after the striker suffered a hamstring injury, suggests Conte might indeed have problems.
Similarly, central defender David Luiz took up an unfamiliar role in midfield owing to N’Golo Kante’s hamstring injury, so 21-year- old Andreas Christensen made his sixth start of the season.
eventually, though, Conte was able to crack a smile thanks to Luiz, who took full advantage of abysmal defending by Juan Jesus to put the hosts ahead in the 11th minute. That is not to take anything away from Luiz’s cracking finish. Twenty yards, right foot, bottom corner. Brilliant.
eden Hazard, playing in a central role behind Morata, fired just wide after a typically pacy and powerful drive from midfield.
Roma were rattled, but they rallied when Radja Nainggolan, a player Conte tried and failed to sign in the summer, was foiled by Thibaut Courtois at his near post after Kevin Strootman’s defencesplitting pass in the 31st minute.
Moments later, Dzeko set up Diego Perotti, but the Argentine’s finish was tame. Roma were on top and Conte looked distressed, so there was an element of relief to his celebration when Hazard fired home in the 37th minute to put Chelsea 2-0 up.
The finish, on the half-volley, was consummate and controlled after Morata’s attempted shot had deflected off former Tottenham player Federico Fazio.
Roma had looked capable of troubling Chelsea, but now the home side had breathing space. Well, they did for all of three minutes. There looked to be little danger when Kolarov picked up possession on the left touchline. One driving run past Cesar Azpilicueta and a deflected shot off Christensen later, and Roma were on the scoreboard.
The way Azpilicueta let the former City man breeze past him was unforgivable and Conte did not look in a forgiving mood as he marched down the tunnel at half-time. eusebio Di Francesco’s team, meanwhile, had a spring in their step. Roma began the second period with intent, Gerson firing over in the 52nd minute before Courtois denied Kolarov with his feet.
This was uncomfortable viewing for Conte and the fact Nainggolan was having a growing influence only made it worse.
Conte responded by taking off goalscorer Luiz and sending on Pedro as he reverted to his triedand-tested 3-4-3 formation. Not that Luiz was happy about it and he made his feelings abundantly clear as he trudged off.
The Brazilian shook hands with Conte but turned down goalkeep-
ing coach Carlo Cudicini’s invitation to watch the rest of the match with his team-mates and he stormed down the tunnel instead.
There could be repercussions for Luiz this morning, but Dzeko’s stunning strike on 64 minutes soon became the main talking point. You sensed what he was thinking when Fazio floated an angled ball over Chelsea’s midfield into the area.
His eyes watching the ball all the way on to his left boot, Dzeko unleashed a volley that simply rocketed past Courtois. It took the breath away.
The away fans erupted, as did the Roma bench, and they were celebrating again six minutes later. Kolarov must have been licking his lips when Tiemoue Bakayoko fouled Perotti on the left touchline and the Serb’s sweet cross was met by Dzeko’s head to send Roma into a 70th-minute 3-2 lead.
The drama wasn’t over, though, and Hazard levelled five minutes later, escaping the attentions of Roma’s defence to nod home a Pedro cross.