OMG!! Antonio Conte admits Arsenal and Liverpool helped Chelsea to beat United
Oct 24, 2016 at 5:29 PM
Antonio Conte admits that Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal and Liverpool this season made them ‘understand’ their ambition, as they bulldozed Manchester United 4-0 on Sunday.
After making an unbeaten start in their opening four Premier League games under Conte, Chelsea then lost their next two to two of their biggest rivals in Liverpool and Arsenal.
The performances in those games left a lot to be desired, bringing back memories of the Blues’ poor displays last term.
Jurgen Klopp’s men won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge before Arsenal registered a 3-0 victory at the Emirates, leaving Chelsea in a tricky position. Although they bounced back with two wins over Hull City and Leicester City in the following weeks, the United clash was a true test of where the club are under Conte at present.
However, goals from Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante secured an impressive victory over Jose Mourinho’s troops, leaving Chelsea in fourth on 19 points, one behind the top three.
“It’s very important,” Conte told post-match reporters. “After the Liverpool and Arsenal defeats, we had to understand our ambition.”
“We have to think about West Ham now.”
They’ve now scored 19 goals and conceded nine in their opening nine Premier League games this season.
Chelsea played with more than the desire for revenge, though. They also had an intelligent design, and a proper plan. That was one big difference between the teams even beyond the application.
While United’s attacks were so aimless and involved little more than punting and running, there was real co-ordination to everything they did. Conte seems to have found a formation that fits this team with his three at the back, and it led to a four-goal onslaught.
It also seemed the type of innovation that is now beyond Mourinho, and further bolsters the growing argument that he is past his best, and no longer at the elite end of the game.
After all the intrigue of last season, and debate about which Chelsea players had turned against Mourinho, there was a lot of evidence to pore over at Stamford Bridge.
So many players seemed to relish the occasion, and the opportunity to get one over their former boss. Eden Hazard celebrated his goal with conspicuous levels of joy, Pedro put real vigor into every move, and Nemanja Matic looked back to his best.
No-one, however, seemed to enjoy it as much as a man that Mourinho actually sold early on. David Luiz’s response to N’Golo Kante’s goal – the strike that transformed this from a bad beating to a humiliation – was utterly raucous. The talk before this game was that Mourinho wanted to prove a point at Stamford Bridge. His former players evidently wanted to more.
Next up for the Blues is an away clash at West Ham United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, before taking on Southampton at St. Mary’s next weekend.