Tag Chelsea FCAntonio Conte

NAN-S-

Conte

London, Feb. 19, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Chelsea must play the “perfect game” to beat a formidable Barcelona in Tuesday’s first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie, the manager of the Premier League club Antonio Conte has said.

The Premier League champions have recovered from a poor run of form, winning consecutive matches over West Bromwich Albion in the league and Hull City in the FA Cup.

However, Chelsea’s Italian coach is not getting carried away.

“On one hand you know this team is one of the best in the world – maybe they are favourites to win this competition,” Conte told British media.

“On the other hand we must be excited because we have a great opportunity to play a massive game against a really strong team and to show which is our level.

“… We have to try to have the perfect game, the perfect game to try to make the best decisions. For this type of team.

“They have fantastic characteristics with the ball. But they can have weaknesses without the ball and we have to try and exploit this.”

Barcelona’s star forward Lionel Messi has never scored in eight matches against Chelsea and Conte is eager for his team to maintain that record.

Chelsea last defeated the Spanish side in 2012 as the London outfit marched to their first Champions League title.

Midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in 2014, is confident that Conte’s side can repeat the feat.

“They try to put the first pressure very, very high – (they) always work towards the ball,” Fabregas said.

“If we can (get) past this first phase of their pressure, then we have the content to do that, and not put ourselves under too much pressure, then I think we can hurt them because they will leave a lot of spaces at the back.

“Hopefully we can give a good image of what we can do and do a good performance.”

Chelsea next travel to second-placed Manchester United in the league on Sunday.(Reuters/NAN)

KIA/DE/MZA

===========

(Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Maharazu Ahmed)

NAN-S-1
Rotation
London, Feb. 16, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will rotate his squad, starting from Friday’s English FA Cup clash with Hull City.

The London side are faced with a tough run of fixtures ahead, but the coach said a strong Cup run was high on his list of priorities for the rest of the season.

After the fifth round meeting with Championship side Hull, Chelsea host FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 next week.

Thereafter, back-to-back English Premier League games against Manchester United and Manchester City follow.

“For sure, we have in front of us two weeks that will be tough.

“For this reason, I think it is right to have a plan to take on the two tough weeks in the right way,” Conte told a news conference on Thursday.

“At the same time, as you know very well, we want to try to go through to the next round in the FA Cup.”

Chelsea are fourth in the league and 19 points adrift of leaders Manchester City with 11 games left.

However, Conte said a good run was vital to maintain their advantage over Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal who are directly below them in the league.

“When you start a season, every competition is a priority… We want to try to fight for every competition. There are three priorities for us in the rest of the season,” he added.

Midfielders Tiemoue Bakayoko and Ross Barkley as well as defender David Luiz will miss the match against Hull with injuries.

Also, striker Olivier Giroud (calf) and defender Marcos Alonso (ankle) face a late test to be fit.

Hull come into the contest on the back of a 2-1 fourth round win over Arsenal’s conquerors Nottingham Forest.(Reuters/NAN)
KIA/MUYI/OLAL
===============

(Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh and Olawale Alabi)