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Chelsea news: Antonio Conte was afraid of these two Liverpool stars - Paul Mariner
CHELSEA boss Antonio Conte set his team up defensively against Liverpool because he was afraid of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Chelsea news: Antonio Conte was scared of Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino - Mariner
That is the opinion of ESPN FC pundit and former Arsenal striker Paul Mariner.
Conte selected the midfield trio of N’Golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater in a game for the first time in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
That allowed Eden Hazard to play in a more central role behind striker Alvaro Morata.
If Conte’s reasoning was to help stop the impact of Mane and Firmino, then he would have been shocked to see the Liverpool team-sheet, because the star duo were both named on the bench.
He was a little bit afraid of possibly Firmino and Mane starting which they didn’t do
“I think that you could see with the way that Antonio Conte set his team up,” Mariner said.
“He had the three at the back and five in the middle of the park and then Hazard just off Morata.
“So that’s slightly unusual for him, so he was a little bit afraid of possibly Firmino and Mane starting which they didn’t do.
“As the game progressed I thought there was a lot of ebb and flow to the game, I actually enjoyed it.
Klopp reacts to Liverpool's 1-1 draw: Chelsea fought hard
Chelsea news: Conte would have been surprised not to see Mane and Firmino start for Liverpool
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