Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has defended the use of his tactics in his side’s defeat at Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The Blues produced a surprisingly negative display and failed to have a shot on target in the match as Bernardo Silva’s goal less than a minute into the second half sealed the game and pushed Manchester City 18 points clear at the top and closer to the title.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville called Chelsea’s display “absolutely unacceptable” and accused Conte’s players of being “mannequins”, while colleague Jamie Redknapp called their approach “anti-football” and “a crime against football”.
The Italian boss responded: “You have to accept every critic, but I am not so stupid to play against Manchester City open and to lose 3-0 or 4-0.
“A few days ago, Arsenal played twice against them and then you criticised [Arsenal manager Arsene] Wenger a lot because they conceded three goals in only 30 minutes.
“The pundit has to use the head to understand when you speak about tactics because I think you must have knowledge to speak about tactics and not only to speak in a stupid way.”
When asked if Chelsea could have been more ambitious in their play, striker Olivier Giroud, who came on as substitute, said: “It is a good question. The coach made his tactics. We tried to respect it.”
Pep Guardiola’s side were forced to bide their time before making the breakthrough on Sunday and it came when Silva stole in ahead of Marcos Alonso from David Silva’s cross to beat Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Chelsea did not register a single shot on target, leaving Manchester City keeper Ederson a virtual bystander as he was even able to watch Alonso’s timid shot drift wide with seconds left.
It was a disappointing day for Chelsea and manager Conte – and of even greater concern is that they are now five points adrift of Tottenham in fourth place in the race for spots in next season’s Champions League.
BBC