Conte given selection headache ahead of Barcelona clash

After thrashing Hull City 4-0, Antonio Conte feels the Chelsea players have given him something to think about before facing Barcelona.

Published : Feb 17, 2018 05:28 IST

Chelsea's 4-0 win over Hull City in the FA Cup on Friday has given Antonio Conte selection headaches ahead of Barcelona's Champions League visit.

Conte's side produced an excellent display against the Championship strugglers at Stamford Bridge, Willian stealing the show thanks to a brilliant brace, as Olivier Giroud also impressed with his first goal for the club and a pair of assists.

Pedro got the other goal as Chelsea found themselves 4-0 up by half-time, despite the likes of Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante being rested.

The comfortable scoreline gave Conte the chance to bring Giroud, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro off in the second half and now he has "doubts" over who to start against Barcelona after several eye-catching performances from his players.

"For sure it was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest important players, key players for us," Conte told BT Sport.

"But at the same time I saw players in good form. To have a lot of doubts before the Barcelona game is important, because I have different options. Now we have three days to decide on them."

The 3-0 win over West Brom at the weekend saw Chelsea put consecutive defeats past them and Friday's victory will have further improved their morale.

But Conte has urged his players not to lose focus again, with games against Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City on the horizon.

"I think we lost two bad games, especially against Watford," Conte added. "But we played a good game at the end of a busy period.

"Now I think again we have confidence, but at the same time, the next two weeks we have to play massive games and we need to be strong.

"We need to face the games against Barca, United, City and Crystal Palace in the right way."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment