The defending champions finished a game with a man less not for the first time this season!
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte (Photo: AFP)
After seeing David Luiz controversially sent off in Sunday’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admitted he wanted ‘more luck’ from referees in the future.
“I hope we will be more lucky with the referee’s decisions in the future, for us and the opponent,” the Chelsea manager said at the post-match press conference.
Arsenal, despite a poor start to the season, gave a good account of themselves at Stamford Bridge and Conte admitted that he was happy with a point, despite losing ground to Manchester City and Manchester United in the Premier League title-race.
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“We started the game well but suffered a little after that against a really strong team,” Conte added.
Chelsea winger Pedro missed a glorious chance in the first-half to give the hosts the lead but Conte insisted his decision to substitute the Spaniard at the interval for summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko was borne out of an injury the winger suffered in the first-half.
“Pedro wasn’t 100% fit after getting a knock to his ankle in the first-half, and that’s why I took him off at half-time,” Conte clarified.
Club record-signing Alvaro Morata, with three goals to his name already, was unable to add to his season’s tally, but his manager stressed that he was happy with the Spanish striker’s display on Sunday.
“I was very happy with Morata’s performance today, he linked play up well,” Conte stressed on a player that cost the club a hefty £60 million fee.
Conte’s decision to keep Eden Hazard on the bench backfired in a way, as the defending champions were unable to keep their winning streak but the Italian tactician revealed that after a lively cameo, the Belgian is ready to start his first game of the season.
“Hazard played very well. Now on Wednesday (against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup) he will have the possibility to start the game and complete his recovery,” Conte added as he signed off.
Chelsea remain in third place in the league table, three points behind joint-leaders Manchester City and Manchester United after five games played.
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