Conte admits below-par Chelsea were tired
Antonio Conte said Chelsea’s midweek draw with Arsenal was the reason for their lacklustre 0-0 draw against Leicester at Stamford Bridge.
Conte said he always planned to play “almost the same team” against the Foxes as he did against the Gunners in the Caraboa Cup.[phone]
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But the Italian admitted fatigue played a big part in his team’s below-par display against a side who went down to 10 men after 68 minutes.
“Honestly, not to find an excuse, we paid a lot for the effort against Arsenal,” Conte said after a third successive goalless draw.
“We played Wednesday night and played against a really good team in good physical form like Leicester after only two-and-a-half days.
“We have to consider in this period that to face all competitions is not simple.”
Leicester wasted four excellent first-half chances and Chelsea only really began to properly compete when Willian and Pedro were brought on with more than 30 minutes remaining.
“I saw a lot of players very tired,” Conte added. “We suffered a lot in the first half and at the start of the second half but when I decided to put fresh energy the game changed.
“We tried to create chances and score. We didn’t suffer defensively and we tried to win the game but I think at the end a draw was fair.”
He said taking off Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard was an easy decision: “I saw they were were very, very tired. It was simple.”
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