Chelsea owe Conte a thank you

As soon as they saw Chelsea's starting lineup for the big match against Barcelona this morning, many Blues fans had to raise their eyebrows. On Twitter, many people wondered why coach Antonio Conte left Alvaro Morata out. The opponent was Barcelona and Morata is someone who knows the Catalan team very well. Why was he on the bench?

Chelsea owe Conte a thank you

However, the match quickly proved Conte's wisdom and skill. Eliminating an artist and prioritizing fast, durable, enthusiastic players who can disrupt Barca's play is a way of playing that many coaches have used. However, Conte's talent in commanding troops has helped a seemingly old style of play continue to cause Barcelona a lot of trouble.

As the match went on, the fans realized more clearly that if Morata had been on the pitch, Chelsea would not have played as well as they did against the Catalan giants. The level of respect for Conte's tactical thinking also increased accordingly.

It has been rumored for half a month that Conte will leave Chelsea at the end of this season to make way for Luis Enrique. It was an inevitable separation because the Italian coach had violated too many taboos at Chelsea (daring to joke with owner Roman Abramovich, for example).

However, after all, Conte has proven that his separation from Chelsea was only related to attitude issues, and that his expertise has not encountered any problems. Since taking the position of head coach of The Blues, Conte has never failed to give his all for this team. More than once, with his talent for commanding troops, Conte has brought Chelsea out of danger, to at least maintain the majesty of a giant.

The match against Barcelona this morning is a typical example. And if you want to find a more memorable mark, go back to September 2016. After Chelsea lost 2 consecutive matches against Liverpool and Arsenal, Conte bravely proposed to meet directly with Abramovich. After 3 days of closed-door meetings, Chelsea returned to the Premier League with a back three and won 15 consecutive matches.

From a club on the brink of crisis, Conte took The Blues straight to the Premier League throne. The 3-defender formation that he spent 3 days convincing Abramovich to allow to be applied became such a hot trend that it forced even a conservative coach like Arsene Wenger to apply it. According to statistics, 17/20 Premier League clubs have played with a 3-defender formation at least once.

Whenever Chelsea was slipping towards the brink of crisis, Conte thought of a way to pull The Blues out of the mud. Perhaps that was why, despite their “face but heart”, Abramovich still could not “take action” against Conte before the season ended.

Chelsea's win rate is higher with Morata

In the 2017/18 Premier League, Chelsea won 66.6% of their matches when Alvaro Morata was in the starting lineup. This rate dropped to just 33.3% when the Spanish striker was absent. Through these statistics, we can see even more the determination and boldness of Conte when leaving Morata out in the match against Barca.