Chelsea boss Antonio Conte fires warning to Eden Hazard ahead of Crystal Palace visit - 7M sport

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte fires warning to Eden Hazard ahead of Crystal Palace visit



Posted Saturday, March 10, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte fires warning to Eden Hazard ahead of Crystal Palace visit
Eden Hazard has been deployed as a false 9 in recent weeks

ANTONIO CONTE has issued a warning to Eden Hazard not to take his frustrations out on Chelsea's tactics in public.

The Belgian forward moaned about having to play the 'false 9' position again in the 1-0 defeat at Manchester City last week, saying he could have played for three hours more without touching the ball.

But Conte told him: "If I think it's right for the team to play that way, it's okay. The tactics at City were the same as against Barcelona. I didn't hear anyone complaining then."

Conte also revealed that as a Juventus player he once complained to the media about the role he was playing in Marcello Lippi's team, only for the coach to roast him in front of all the other players, fine him and then drop him.

Hazard was taken off in the last minute at the Etihad and walked off the pitch without acknowledging his manager.

A club source insisted the pair have not spoken about the incident this week as they prepared to host Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening battling to get back into the top four after four defeats in their last five league games.

"My decisions are always for the best for the team," Conte added. "It's important to be committed to the team, not to think about yourself. Maybe my experience as a player helped me.

"I did this once when I was a player at Juventus, with Lippi. We won a massive game against Parma 3-1. Then in an interview I was asked if I was happy with the team. My stupid answer was, 'We are winning, but I'm not happy because I'm not enjoying the role the coach gave me'.

"When I got back to Turin, Lippi killed me in a bad way, not in a soft way, in front of all the players. Then the club killed me with a big fine. And I didn't play in the next game, I was on the bench.

"Lippi told me it was a lack of respect for my team-mates, for him, the club and the fans. But I brought that experience into my heart and I improved. I learned not to be selfish, started to think for the team. I became captain.

"If something happens, I like to confront the situation face-to-face with all the players. Face the situation and solve it together. Not through the press.

"I would not do the same as Lippi though. I don't think this is the same situation.

"When I was a player, until one point in my career, I was selfish. You think about yourself. If you don't play, you're unhappy. You don't think about the team.

"But when you arrive at that point, you start to have a more open mind. To think for the team."

Hazard will come up against Crystal Palace's new starlet Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who faces a third major examination after first coming into the side against Tottenham and Manchester United seven days ago.

How the 20-year-old defender handles the brilliant Belgian, one of the most gifted attackers in the world, could shape his future at Selhurst Park.

Wan-Bissaka, who wanted to go out on loan because of limited chances, will start because Palace still have injury problems to key defenders.

Manager Roy Hodgson said: "From the first moments we had him in training we thought this is a player who could do a job in the Premier League.

"The competition had disappeared and we had no one else. Now there will be rivalry with others getting fit, and they have to worry about knocking him off his perch.

"It would only have been a gamble had I been leaving senior players out, but it was an opportunity that came his way quicker than many would have expected.

"He's handled it very well and facing Chelsea will be another big demand placed on him. But you don't get tougher than playing Spurs and United, so he's faced players of the quality of Delli Ali and Harry Kane, Ashley Young, and Marcus Rashford in such a short time.

"At the moment he has the shirt so it's up to those getting fit to get the shirt back.

"I think he is rather pleased. I forced him to stay at the club in January and didn't go along with his desire to go out on loan. He thought he was starting to outgrow Under-23 matches and was ready for the next level.

"My point was to stay with us because his chance might come, and he didn't seem to be crying too many tears about that.

"So he should be proud at what he has done and those two performances must be a source of satisfaction for him.

"He has done better than we could have expected, but I've not noticed any difference in him in that his head will swell or he'll lose track of the fact he's still a young man breaking into the Palace team."

Palace are desperate for points and Hodgson added: "How many do we need to escape going down?

"When I was at Fulham we survived with 36, my friend Trevor Brooking went down with 42 at West Ham, so between 36 and 42."

Palace currently have 27.



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