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Sunday, February 25, 2018

Antonio Conte explains the reason for controversial substitution against Manchester United

Image result for Antonio Conte explains the reason for controversial substitution against Manchester United Eyebrows were raised in the 73rd minute of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday as Antonio Conte elected to take off Eden Hazard and replace him with Pedro with the scores still level.

The Blues needed three points to reclaim their place in the top four after Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace earlier that day and so it seemed like a strange decision from Conte to take off his star playmaker.

Many assumed that Hazard had suffered an injury of some kind and fans began to worry about his fitness for the rest of the season - particularly for the second leg of their Champions League clash with Barcelona next month.

But after the game Conte insisted that replacing Hazard was merely a tactical decision as he did not believe the Belgian had enough gas left in the tank to continue to provide enough "balance" to the team.

"No, no it was a tactical decision," Conte told reporters when he was asked if Hazard had sustained an injury before being withdrawn just before United's second goal. "You have to keep the same performance for 90 minutes, otherwise we don't have a great balance.

Every single player tried to work with the ball and without the ball otherwise our balance, we lose the game... I repeat for us it is very important to find a balance offensively and defensively. If you think only to attack and not defend then you can concede a goal and lose the game."

"In the first half he ran a lot, at the start of the second half in the same way but when I see that a player is a bit tired then it is my task to change the situation and find the right solution. Pedro came in."

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