UDINE, ITALY – APRIL 14: Head coach of Juventus Antonio Conte looks on during the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Juventus at Stadio Friuli on April 14, 2014 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Dino Panato/Getty Images)
The manager said that Chelsea has to start acting like a team on and off the field to find success.
After Chelsea fell to Real Madrid, the manager spoke in a post game conference and said “I know it’s not easy to play this game against another great club after only two days of rest, and after a flight of four hours and a half, I know this because I knew the team was a bit tired.
“But today, I think that this match is very important for us because after this game it’s clear that we have to work together always — without the ball and with the ball — because if we think that we can’t work together when we don’t have the ball, it’s not possible for us. It’s not possible, and we risk to repeat a bad season. Today, I think we weren’t a team in defensive situations. It’s important because in the last game, I appreciated a lot our defensive situation and I told also that we can improve when we have the ball. Today, [we were] better with the ball, but bad without the ball.”
However the manager praised Conte Hazard, who came in as a substitute and tallied on two breakaways.
“Hazard, he’s recovering the good shape,” he said. “I liked him in this position, like a forward,” he said. “I think he can be a good solution for us. Also to play winger but also to play like a second forward. He must improve his [fitness], but he’s working, he’s working. He knows that his shape can improve a lot, in the same way as the other players.”