N’Golo Kante was unavailable for Chelsea’s visit to Manchester City which they eventually lost 1-0 through a goal by Bernardo Silva.
The France international missed the fixture due to illness and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas who partnered Danny Drinkwater in midfield.
Antonio Conte opted to start with Eden Hazard in front with Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud dropped to the bench.
Chelsea’s top four finish in the Premier League now seems to be in jeopardy as they have now lost two League games in a row against both Manchester teams.
After the loss, Conte says his players followed his instructions: “We prepared the game in this way, don’t concede space between the lines, also because when you play against City you have to use your brain, otherwise you risk to end the game in a bad way & lose three, 4-0”
“It’s difficult to play against Manchester City. It’s a pity that we conceded 30 seconds into the second half…My tactics was to not concede space. When you do this, you risk going a few goals down. They [Man City] have a fantastic mentality.”
Manchester City have set a new record as they completed 902 passes, which is more than any other team has managed since Opta records began in the 2003-04 campaign.
