Manchester United Vs Chelsea: When Mourinho goes low, Conte goes high
Manchester United Vs Chelsea: Jose Mourinho has managed to further insult Antonio Conte and Chelsea fans in recent press comments.
The Manchester United vs Chelsea fiery rivalry is being stoked up again through Jose Mourinho’s comments.
Jose Mourinho told the press that Chelsea ‘defend with 11 players’ . He has said this earlier on in the season too stating that Chelsea play negative tactics.
This is despite the fact that Chelsea have scored 19 more goals than United this season.
Mourinho also stated that his players were tired from too much football while also implying that Chelsea are top because of their lack of football.
"“First of all, some guys are fresh, some guys are tired. That’s very important in football.“But for some reason they [Chelsea] are top of the league, it’s not just because they are fresh. It’s also because they have individual quality and they have collective quality.”"
Clearly Mourinho is trying to unsettle the Blues ahead of this crucial match-up and is trying to get under Antonio Conte’s skin.
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The two previously had a bust up at Stamford Bridge this season when Mourinho accused Conte of being disrespectful for celebrating too much after Chelsea’s 4-0 win over Mourinho’s men.
But how did Conte react? He didn’t. He’s a master of press conferences and staying calm and refused to take the bait when several questions from the reporters were aimed to get Conte to speak negatively about Manchester United and Mourinho.
When asked whether the rivalry was going to spill over to the touchlines Conte responded and said he didn’t see a problem and that it was just a “sporting conflict” with Jose Mourinho.
"“He [Mourinho] won a lot with this team, and this club has always showed him great respect for his past. If you remember, I said the same before the last match. Nothing has changed. We have great respect for his history at this club. Nothing has changed.”"
When asked about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Conte simply said that he’s in great form.
However when asked if he would take any Manchester United players over Chelsea players Conte bluntly said “no, no, no. This is not a good question. My Chelsea players are the best in the world.”
When Mourinho takes repeated jabs at Conte to unsettle him, Conte refuses to respond. He goes high when others go low. Mourinho has repeatedly gone low this season which has led most Chelsea fans to despise the man that they once regarded as their ‘special one’.
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Manchester United Vs Chelsea should be a great match on the field but it will also be interesting to see what happens off the field too.