Antonio Conte has embarked for Anfield in combative mood. Chelsea take on Liverpool in the weekend’s most anticipated fixture but the manager prefaced it by opening up a new line of complaint against his employers, over the contract of Thibaut Courtois, while continuing to air grievances over a congested fixture list.
The Chelsea goalkeeper is under contract at Stamford Bridge until the end of next season but the player Conte believes will be “the best in the world” said this week there has been no progress on a new deal and he is happy to wait until the end of the season to pursue discussions.
When asked to comment on Courtois’ remarks in his pre-match press conference, Conte said the onus lay on the club to fix the situation. “I must be honest, I think that this question is for the club, not for me,” he said.
“I like to give my opinion about technical decisions. It is important for the club to face this issue, to face this contract with Courtois. For sure I can tell that Courtois is one of the best, maybe the best goalkeeper in the world, and he is a player who is very important for Chelsea. I can tell this. But for sure the renewal is a task for the club.
“If a big player decides to not sign a new contract it is difficult for a club to try to avoid this issue,” Conte went on. “But at the same time I think there is space to try to deal with the issue and try to solve the situation. Maybe [Alexis] Sánchez and [Mesut] Özil they are finishing their contracts with Arsenal and it is not simple but every club has to try solve the situations.”
Chelsea made a 6,000-mile round trip to Azerbaijan in midweek, touching down in London only at the second time of asking because of bad weather. But while he admitted to being disconcerted by these events Conte was more keen to repeat his insistence that Chelsea have been unfairly done by in the allocation of fixtures.
“It was a lot of wind and we tried to land the first time but it was impossible,” said Conte, whose side were 4-0 winners against Qarabag, of the emergency landing at Gatwick. “Then the captain tried again and the second time it was positive. As you know in these circumstances you feel a bit afraid, you are a bit scared, but the captain was very good.
“It was a problem to land. I think that to get to your house at 6am is not simple. It’s not simple then to rest and recover for only one day and to prepare for a big game. It’s not right, I must be honest. But we have to do it and today we had a good training session and we tried to prepare the game very well.”
Conte says he has asked his club to do what they can to ensure such a compressed fixture schedule does not recur but says he has not made a complaint to the Premier League.
The Italian was also critical after Chelsea faced Manchester City in the Premier League in September, two days after returning from a Champions League away fixture with Atlético Madrid.
“I tried to speak with my club about this problem and to pay more attention for the future,” Conte said.
“This is not the first time. In only one month and a half we have had two situations and, also, it was before big games, against Manchester City and now against Liverpool.
“I think [the Premier League] have to pay more attention and try to give the same possibilities to all teams to recover in the right way, in the same way, and not to try to create a problem for only one team.
“I don’t know if we will speak to the Premier League but the situation is really clear. Everyone can tell this. Not because I want to complain,” the Chelsea manager said.
Conte and his squad got back on a plane on Friday afternoon to fly to Merseyside for their Saturday teatime fixture at Anfield. Asked whether his players would be jaded after their travelling experience, Conte said: “I think that we must be ready. Ready to play a big game against Liverpool. I don’t want to give excuses or alibis and it is the same for the players.
“For sure it won’t be easy facing a really good team, a strong team, especially at home. Their fans push them a lot but at the same time we have to try to do our best.”
Conte’s fixture frustration has not gone unnoticed by his rival, Jürgen Klopp. The Liverpool manager, described by Conte as a coach similar to himself in his “intensity and passion” for the game, said his Chelsea counterpart can have few complaints over fixture scheduling when Chelsea have been granted a lenient festive period for the second season running.
Klopp claims Chelsea have a major advantage in playing on 30 December and 3 January, when most clubs will play on the 30 December and 1 January.
The Liverpool manager said: “I really get what Antonio is talking about but maybe he forgot they had the best Christmas schedule last year. Everyone played every two days and they had 12 days to play three games.
“It is the same situation this year and I don’t know how the Premier League will explain this.”