Thibaut Courtois says he was shocked to see Eden Hazard substituted in 2-1 loss against Manchester United on Sunday.
Chelsea slipped out of top four after goals from Romelu Lukaku and Lingard earned the full points for United.
The winner from Jesse Lingard came two minutes after the substitution of Eden Hazard by Conte.
“I have no explanation for the substitution,” Courtois told Play Sports . “I did not expect it, but it’s the manager’s choice. He’ll explain it. I can’t look into his head.
“Of course, you want players like Eden 90 minutes on the pitch. He can always bring something extra.”
Conte has been under pressure in recent weeks at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues struggling in the League. Chelsea are currently fifth in the Premier League, two points behind Tottenham and 19 behind Manchester City.
Speaking after the defeat, Conte claimed that Hazard had failed to maintain a high standard in the second half and that his withdrawal was a tactical decision.
“No Hazard (is not injured), no,” Conte told a news conference. “It was a tactical decision.
“You have to keep the same performance for 90 minutes, we didn’t have a great balance, and every single player has to try to work with the ball, without the ball, otherwise we lose our balance.
“I think he’d finished his energy because the first half he ran a lot. The second half he started the same way, but when I see a player is a bit tired, my task is to find a different solution.”
Meanwhile, Courtois was left surprised by the defeat at United, which came just after the 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona in the Champions League when the blues had also taken the lead.
“After our goal, we conceded a counter-attacking goal just like last Tuesday but in the second half we had less of the ball, but even then we should never have lost this match,” he said.
“If you do not do the small things well in top matches, you lose, which is what happened.”
