You just can’t make decisions like we did today
Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager, extended his good start to his first season in English football with a 3-0 win against the Clarets, a fourth successive league and cup win for the Blues.
He was enthusing about his team’s performance after the game. “I’m pleased with the performance and the win,” he said. “We played good football with good ball possession. We created a lot of chances. The most important thing, after 13 games conceding a goal at home, we didn’t concede a goal. That is good news for the players, for me and for the fans.
“It’s a pity now there is an international break. After three wins I wanted to continue to play games but we have to stop. With my staff we will continue to work in this period of rest, to watch the game, to watch the good things, many, and watch the bad things, a few, and try to continue to improve.
“We have now played for official games, against West Ham a good game, against Watford so-so, this game we started very well and for the whole game we played good football. I’m also pleased because I saw the idea of our football today.”
He added: “To start the season with three wins and a win in the cup is good for all, for the confidence of the players and the fans. When we start in this way you can work better, and also the players can trust the work more. Usually when a new manager arrives he brings his football methodology and new ideas. You can have good ideas but it’s important to have good results to increase players’ confidence in you.”
There were some terrific individual performances in the home team, but Conte chose to pick out Eden Hazard. “Eden is a fantastic player, he is working very well with a great attitude,” he said. “After the first day I saw this, his will to work very well, to find a good shape very soon. I also can say Eden’s performance can improve, but I’m pleased with his work rate and commitment.
“I’m pleased for him but also for Willian, Pedro, Moses, also Cuadrado. These are players with great talent, fantastic one-v-one. When you have these players it’s good for me to exact this talent. We are working on this aspect, to put the players in the best condition to exact this talent. The other players have the right attitude too and this is important news for me.”
Sean Dyche didn’t pull any punches after the game and was quick to admit that we were second best on an afternoon when he thought his players didn’t play as well as they can.
“They had far too much for us today,” Dyche admitted. “There is a massive gulf between where they are as a football club and us, both on and off the pitch, and it was on show today. If you add in really poor decision making from us and a very poor first half, which is not like us, they you have no chance of winning games like this.
“We gave the ball away far too often against a team who have changed. They are a fine side and they fill the pitch, they sit and absorb a bit more and allow you to play, rather than coming after you, but we didn’t use the ball well at all and there was no will and demand to go and get the ball, to use the ball or keep it. “There were too many sloppy passes and you just can’t make decisions like we did today against teams of this quality.
“Credit to the lads for keeping going, but Chelsea were never really in trouble and we have to learn from these games because this isn’t our market. We have to take these challenges on, We wanted them, but there is a big gap.”
Dyche has often referred to the contribution of his substitutes and he said: “I was really pleased with the changes and for Aiden to be on a Premier League pitch, aged just 18, is fantastic. He is a young man with a fantastic future , as long as he keeps working hard and keeps himself grounded, which I think he will.
“In the end though, we stuck at it and tried to get something from the game, but it was always going to be difficult. We have to take away the fact this is a very good club with a deep level of quality. We go away knowing you have to come to places like this with real belief and I thought we were lacking that, in particular in the first half.”
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