Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Chelsea news: Why Barcelona defeat won't cost Antonio Conte his job - Deco
ANTONIO CONTE will not be sacked if Chelsea fail to beat Barcelona in the Champions League.
Antonio Conte's job is safe, according to Deco
That is the verdict of former star Deco.
The Blues boss is under increasing pressure after a turbulent second season in England.
Chelsea find themselves 19 points off the pace in the league and Conte has already conceded that his side will not retain their crown this term.
The Italian can still salvage the season by winning the Champions League.
However Conte's poor record in the competition, coupled with Barcelona's solid form of late, mean Chelsea are facing an early exit from the competition.
But former midfielder Deco believes Roman Abramovich will not sack the manager if they lose the tie.
Deco played for both Chelsea and Barcelona during his career
To be defeated by Barcelona won't be a disaster
"I'm not in the daily routine of Chelsea, Chelsea nowadays is a big club and all big clubs have the pressure of [needing] victories, even being in England, where managers tend to stay longer," he told Omnisport.
"But Chelsea's history is not the same of other English teams, of course this will be a challenge.
"To be defeated by Barcelona won't be a disaster.
"Of course, Chelsea wants to get through, but I don't think their manager's work will be evaluated by this.
"That's a problem [for] them and they know what to do."
Chelsea offloaded key players in the summer.
And Deco believes this may be the reason Conte is not enjoying the same level of success this season.
"To lose Diego Costa and [Nemanja] Matic, they were two important players to Chelsea, even though [Alvaro] Morata had a very good beginning, he's not a substitute for Diego yet," he added.
"The way Chelsea played... [they haven't] found yet the same football they had last year.
"But problems are normal, when you don't win and don't achieve the goals of such a big club like Chelsea, it's always difficult."