Conte pleased despite moan about fixture schedule

Joe Williams

Antonio Conte thinks Chelsea’s start to their 3-1 victory over Newcastle United was “slow” but was happy with their performance in the circumstances.

The Blues played Swansea on Wednesday night which gave Conte’s side only two days rest before their match against the Magpies – who played on Tuesday.

Newcastle went ahead through Dwight Gayle on 12 minutes but Chelsea hit back with two goals from Eden Hazard and an Alvaro Morata header.

“I think our start wasn’t good enough,” Conte said. “After going 1-0 down, we started to play with good intensity and good football. Our start was a bit slow.

“We did well after only two days’ rest. It was a solid performance despite the goal. We showed good motivation and good intensity. I made rotations in the game and the response of my players was positive.

“I think that today, to play and win after two days of rest means a lot. Newcastle had the advantage with one day more of rest.”

When asked about Hazard’s cheeky penalty effort, Conte said: “The most important thing is to score. The player can decide to shoot in every way, but the important thing is to score, otherwise it can make me a bit angry.”