Chelsea manager Antonio Conte gestures on the touchline as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho (left) looks onAntonio Conte was naturally delighted his side beat Manchester United 1-0 thanks to a N’Golo Kante strike last night in the FA Cup and now face Spurs at Wembley at the end of April in the semi-final.
“We must be pleased because, to arrive in the semi-final and to play at Wembley is, for us, a source of great satisfaction,” said the Italian.
“Above all for my players, for the work we are doing this season. I think this quarter-final will be with more balance. To play against United is not easy. For me, United have one of the best squads in the league, and they showed this also tonight.”
The game turned on the red card shown to United’s Anders Herrera in the 35th minute.
Conte said: “My point of view is this: they’ve got to play football, and my players want to play football. For 20 or 25 minutes, it was impossible for Hazard to play football. I see only that he got a lot of kicks. But I don’t think I’m crazy and I see only him in this situation. This is my reply to the question. Hazard, for 25 minutes, it was impossible for him to play football. Only kicking.”
What about Marcos Rojo’s second half stamp?
“I didn’t see that. He started receiving kicks, and he finished receiving kicks. No one person can say this did not happen,” he said.
Was United’s tactics to bully and bruise Chelsea?
“I don’t know,” hew said. “But this tactic, to play by going to kick the opponent, does not exist. It’s not football for me. I don’t think this can be a tactic. This is the truth. Everyone saw this. I think sometimes, when you play against players with great talent, you try and intimidate these players. I think the referee must protect this type of player. Then, when they are put out with a bad injury?”
Is that why you were so upset with Mourinho and the fourth official?
“I think that, for him tonight, it was a strong work. (Matt Jones) I think he was very good to manage this situation. But, for sure, it’s normal when you play these types of games and there is a good target to reach, and everyone tried to do their best for their own team. I repeat: for me, the most important thing is what happens on the pitch, the football that one team or the other is trying to play. What happens on the outside, for me, is only a circus.”
Was it more difficult to control his emotions?
“No, no. Absolutely not. I think that my emotions… I controlled the emotions very well today. I didn’t celebrate our goal. I controlled the emotions very well. It’s normal for me, as a coach, to try and do our best to push our team. It’s normal. But the most important thing is to play football. What happens outside is not important. The coaches are not important.”
Eden Hazard keeps getting fouled but he keeps getting up…
“Yes, yes, for sure,” said Conte. “He showed great character. Strong character. It’s very difficult and dangerous to receive a kick from behind. But he showed great character. I know this. Someone can be surprised by Hazard’s character. I’m learning to know him very well this season, and I can tell he has a strong character.”
It’s Spurs in the semi, what was his thoughts?
“Another strong game against a strong team. We start with one win for us and one for them. We are 1-1. It will be an exciting game for the people and our fans. An interesting draw for us. In this phase, Tottenham or Arsenal or City… the level is very high.
“They’ve shown they are able to beat us because it happened in the ‘second leg’. But we’ve shown we are able to beat them, too. Now we’ll see which is the result of this semi-final. It will be an interesting game, very strong for both teams.”