Wednesday, November 1, 2017

CHELSEA ARE NO LONGER FEARED!!! CONTE DECLARES!


Antonio Conte admitted after his side were battered in Rome that teams no longer fear Chelsea.

The Blues boss was left humiliated on his return to Italy after a brace from Stephan El Sharaawy and another from Diego Perotti saw the Premier League champions thoroughly beaten.

Conte said: “If we think that only because our name is Chelsea, and the opponent have fear of the name Chelsea, this is not the right way.

“We have to find the hunger we showed all last season and, this season, only sometimes.

“What I'm most disappointed about was the performance in the second half when Roma had more hunger, more desire, more fight to beat us and clearly deserved this win.”

Conte added: “That was really, really bad. Bad for a team like us. Last season we showed great hunger, great will to do something important. We won the league and did a miracle.

“But if we want to be competitive this season we have to avoid these ups and downs.”

Keeper Thibaut Courtois, echoed his coach's sentiments;  "We have to fight back against Manchester United on Sunday and show that this was an off-day.

“It’s hard to say what the problem is. Last season in every game I had nothing to do, sometimes 1-2 saves, sometimes 4-5 saves against Man Utd or City.

“This season it is a hard for the team and defence. We have to find that balance. We have to find that mentality of clean sheets and concede (less) chances.

“We have to react (on) Sunday because this was a bad image of ourselves and we don’t want it to happen again.”

Conte fears N’golo Kante, not risked for this game after a hamstring injury despite training, could also miss Sunday’s showdown against Manchester United.

He went on: "After an important muscular problem, it would be stupid to risk it, so when Kante feels at 100 per cent, he will return to playing."

Chelsea's next Champions League clash is in Qarabag on November 22 - three days before their Premier League trip to Liverpool.

They then face what could be a defining clash against Atletico (who were held to a draw at home by the group Minnows, Quarabag) for second spot on December 5.
Roma now top Group C with 8 points, Chelsea are close behind on 7 points while Atletico Madrid and Quarabag are on 3rd and 4th with 3 and 2 points respectively.

Source: www.clubgist.com

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