“Six finals” await Chelsea in the English Premier League run-in after a 2-0 loss at Manchester United that leaves their title chances at only “50 percent,” manager Antonio Conte said.
Having hoped to re-establish a seven-point lead over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea’s advantage remains four points following Sunday’s defeat at Old Trafford.
They remain in the driving seat and face only one top-seven side — Everton — in their final six matches, but Conte suggested his team can no longer be considered outright favorites.
Photo: AP
“We have to think that there are six finals from now until the end,” said the Italian, who was without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois due to injury and wingback Marcos Alonso due to a virus.
“The league is open and we have a 50 percent probability to win the league,” he said.
Conte accepted that his team “deserved” to lose and said the outcome of the match was his fault for failing to sufficiently motivate his players, but in a pointed reference to Chelsea’s struggles last season under Jose Mourinho, now the United manager, he said his team’s quest for the title deserved to be considered a “miracle.”
“I prefer to fight for the title instead of don’t fight for the title and stay calm. The pressure is normal and we are lucky to have the pressure,” Conte said. “Last season Chelsea had no pressure — 10th place and you play calm, you are happy. We must understand this, that [something] really important is happening this season because we are doing a great job, and a miracle if you consider last season and the problems we had.”
Mourinho’s decision to man-mark Eden Hazard and Pedro effectively muzzled Chelsea, who failed to register a shot on target in a league game for the first time since 2007.
Ander Herrera, who shadowed Hazard, set up Marcus Rashford for Manchester United’s seventh-minute opener and netted the hosts’ second goal with a deflected strike early in the second half.
The victory lifted United to fifth, four points below Manchester City, who occupy the fourth and final UEFA Champions League place with a game in hand.
Despite having been barracked with chants of “Judas” during United’s 1-0 defeat at Chelsea in the FA Cup last month, Mourinho said the victory over his former club carried no special significance.
“The satisfaction is for different reasons,” Mourinho said. “The first reason is, with Liverpool and Manchester City’s victories, if we don’t win today, goodbye Premier League [top four]. The second reason is they are the leader. They are named Chelsea, but they could be named Arsenal or Tottenham. When you beat the leader, it is obviously a very good feeling because you feel you are as good or better than them.”
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