Conte changes tack towards Mourinho before clash
There was only one brief moment of tension at Antonio Conte’s press conference before the trip to Manchester United on Sunday, but it had more to do with questions about Jose Mourinho rather than anything specifically to do with the Portuguese.
At the very start, the Chelsea manager had attempted to end all discussion about their very public January spat.
“In the past, both of us said things,” Conte began. “OK, for me, it’s OK. I’m not interested to speak about this topic… I’m not interested in this. I’m not interested in this.”
He was naturally asked again, only to effectively say the same words again. “I repeat, I’m not interested in this topic. Both said something in the past, but we stop. For me, the situation has stopped.”
It didn’t stop the questions, though. “I’m not interested in this. I stop.”
It was after that answer that Conte made to get up, if there were going to be no questions about anything other than his relationship with Mourinho. One immediately came about Willian, though, so he sat back down.
The question that did most get Conte’s back up – if not quite set him off – was a fair one. Why was he so content to talk about Mourinho four weeks ago, and in very forthright terms, only to evade all questions as if they were irrelevant now?
One answer obviously would be that he doesn’t want to stoke the opposition further, doesn’t want to say anything that could be thrown back in his face post-game now it’s closer, and Mourinho took the exact same approach up in Manchester. Some of the clubs’ players are said to have loved all this. Ultimately, the tone has changed, but that reflects something about this match too. The form has changed.
It was straight after that spat that Chelsea encountered some real difficulty, losing two consecutive games by three goals, to Bournemouth and Watford. There briefly seemed the possibility that Mourinho could actually end Conte’s time at Stamford Bridge with a United win, before there then seemed the probability that the Italian wouldn’t even make it that far. The aftermath of the Watford game was that bad.
Unlike the Portuguese’s last season at Chelsea, though, Conte’s side did not unravel. They instead rallied, winning their next two games and then so respectably responding to the threat of Barcelona with a 1-1 draw. That has come while United have sagged, and seen different controversy around Paul Pogba, so it is now arguably Chelsea on superior form going into the game.
Conte was proud of his side, having referred to a “blackout” that occurred in the 4-1 to Watford.
“After Bournemouth and Watford, two bad defeats, I think that we won before against West Brom and a good game against Hull, then another against Barcelona. It can happen, that you have a blackout in a few games. We lost two games in different ways. Against Bournemouth we created chances to score, but Watford was a really bad game. But that’s the past.
“No, no. We missed only one game mentality-wise, against Watford. From the start of the season in every game our mentality was top, was top. Under this aspect, I must be very pleased because I have a group of players who work very well. There is always great commitment and great behaviour. But I’ve said this many times. I’m very happy to be the coach of these players. I’m very pleased, 100%, to work with these
players. A winning mentality, it doesn’t mean you have to win every game.
“A winning mentality is about the way you prepare the game, your commitment during training sessions, always at 100% and to have good behaviour with your coach, team-mates, fans, the opponents... this is a winning mentality. To try in every game to start with one idea, to try and win the game... this is a winning mentality. It doesn’t mean you are able to win every game. Sometimes the mind can switch off. For example, against Watford, it happened. Not only one player, but the whole team. But we learned a lot in that game.”
There is also one player right now that perhaps best reflects Chelsea’s form, or rather the way they seem to be performing in waves this season: Willian. The attacker has scored three times in the last two games, including that supreme strike against Barcelona. Conte did bristle at questions about why Willian was not used more before. “But do you think that I am stupid?” Conte asked, “when I put Willy on the bench? I have to try and make the best decision for the team, no? Maybe last season we won the title, or did I forget something? Now he is playing because he deserves to play. But not because there is some regret from the past. For what?
“If a player deserves to play, and shows me during the training session that he is on top of his form, and wants to work defensively, he plays. If not, stay on the bench, stay in the stands. But this is not only for one player, but for all my players. This is what a winning mentality is. Not if one player is happy or if he is not happy if he doesn’t play. It doesn’t matter. I have to make the best decision for the team. He is playing now and I am very happy with my choice. Willian deserved to start in the previous game, and played well. I did a fantastic choice, and I want to take credit for that.”
Conte was laughing by then, and he might just have reasonably said that Willian sometimes feels like a confidence player. Chelsea themselves look like a team with more confidence, and ready for Sunday, even if is it not quite in the manner Conte spoke about a few weeks ago.