On Sunday, Antonio Conte faced tons of criticism for his uncreative tactics from the 1-0 loss to Man City, with Eden Hazard now expressing his discontent. The Blues struggled to create chances against Guardiola’s men and thus walked away without a single point.
Conte’s set-up suggested that the Italian was pleased to defend in numbers and to attack only on the counter. It was an identical plan to the one that worked so well against Barcelona in the Champions League, but it failed against the Citizens.
Similar to the 1-1 draw with the Blaugrana, both Morata and Giroud were left on the bench, with Hazard playing in a false 9 position. However, with no target man in the box, the London giant could not muster a shot on target in the first half, leaving their Belgian ace unhappy.
“When the manager plays me up front, I try to give everything,” Eden said, as per the Daily Mail. “But, for me personally, it's difficult to play a good game when you only touch the ball three times.”
Hazard admitted to struggling against taller defenders, adding: “I try to jump towards the long ball but I played against Otamendi and Laporte. It's not easy to win duels against them.
“We haven't played with our qualities. If Giroud or Morata would have played up front, it would have been easier to play those long balls. With me, it’s a little bit more complicated, but I've tried to do my best.
“When you leave the pitch you have the impression that you've run, but that you haven't played a game of football. That's a pity. We could have played on for three hours, and I wouldn't touch a ball. Only at the end, it went better: in the last 10-15 minutes, we had more possession. But we should have tried to do that all game.”
Conte insisted that his tactics were not at fault for the defeat after the final whistle, but his players should have given importance to attacking in the Etihad tie. Now, they find themselves outside the top four, five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
