The Italian tactician wants his players to switch focus to their midweek meeting with Arsenal!
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte (Photo: AFP)
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte on Saturday urged his players to forget about their commanding 4-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion as they have a Carabao Cup semi-final second leg date with Arsenal looming large on the horizon.
“Every player who scored today must forget that tomorrow and think about scoring against Arsenal on Wednesday,” Conte stated at the post-match press conference after his side’s massive win at the Amex Stadium.
Goals from Eden Hazard and Willian gave the visitors a 2-0 lead early on in the tie and Chelsea never quite looked like they would throw away their advantage despite some nervy moments towards the end of the first-half.
Advertisement
Post the interval, Hazard added another to his tally while Victor Moses would score a fourth late on to add gloss to the scoreline to relieve some of the pressure that had been building on Conte.
“It was a good result with other chances as well as the four goals, plus a clean sheet,” Conte added as he continued, “every single player showed responsibility today”.
Summer signing Danny Drinkwater has endured a stop-start season with the West Londoners and the Englishman was missing from the matchday squad on Saturday as Conte revealed the midfielder had suffered a knock on his ankle during their midweek FA Cup win over Norwich.
The Carabao Cup semifinal is evenly poised after 90 minutes played as the first leg at Stamford Bridge ended goalless earlier in January. And on Wednesday the capital teams will battle it out at the Emirates for a spot in the first domestic cup final of the season.
After a run of 0-0 draws in the Premier League, the defending champions had slipped to fourth in the league table, but they have managed to recover their swagger at the right time as they bid to remain in the race for the UEFA Champions League spots.
Level on points with second-placed Manchester United, who have played a game less, and three ahead of Liverpool, who also have a game in hand, Conte’s men are, temporarily at least, in third place in the Premier League table.
Advertisement
