Chelsea slumped to their first defeat of the Antonio Conte era on Friday night, with the Blues beaten 2-1 by Premier League rivals Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Although Diego Costa continued his purple patch in front of goal to get the Blues back in the game in the second-half, Jurgen Klopp’s men weathered the storm and held on to record an invaluable victory.
Antonio Conte felt we paid the price for a collective lack of concentration at vital times in the game yesterday… https://t.co/4bMzX0lkGd
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 17, 2016
Despite a poor first-half performance, Conte opted not to make any changes at half-time and it was not until the 83rd minute that the Italian trainer decided to introduce new players.
The former Juventus man overlooked reserve striker Michy Batshuayi and instead opted to bring Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Victor Moses on for the final push.
The ploy proved unsuccessful, with the newly introduced trio not having enough time to make an impression on the game before the end.
Chelsea’s fans, obviously disappointed with the defeat, have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations and Conte’s decision not to change things until close to the end has not won him any fans.
Here are the best tweets:
After yesterday I am rest assured conte's lack of interest in Cesc fabregas is a big minus for cfc, also his idea of late sub is a problem
— The Playmaker (@CreativeFlairHQ) September 17, 2016
"Why does Conte feel the need to wait until the last 15 minutes before making a sub? The earliest he's made one is 70mins. #CFC #Chelsea"
— IG:walescott_ (@endowedtwist) September 16, 2016
Easy to say now but triple sub from Conte felt silly – three new players on the pitch, all at once, didn't help #CFC. Should've been gradual
— Akarsh Sharma (@Akarsh_Official) September 16, 2016
I don't want to moan but what is Conte's logic behind 3 sub on 84min.
Why not 60, 65, 70 or 75min?#chelsea #liverpool— ChelseaET (@CfcGiza) September 16, 2016
Same as vs Swansea. Conte waited too long (80+mins) before making a sub despite having options on the bench #CFC
— Shoggy Dee (@Shoggy_Dee) September 16, 2016
Sad to say, but it's indeed a well deserved lose to #LFC. And it's all thanks to that 85ftmins sub man CONTE!
Disappointing!! #CFC— #LordIstandInAllOfU (@IfeyChukuneku) September 16, 2016
Not a fan at all of Conte's sub policy
— Bryon (@BryonCFC) September 16, 2016
3 of Conte's mistakes today:
1) Starting Matic over Cesc.
2) Very very late substitutions.
3) Not bringing on Batshuayi.ALL proved vital.
— Sripad (@falsewinger) September 16, 2016
Can't defend Conte tonight. Made sub's too late on AGAIN and Batshuayi never got a chance
— Harry (@Harry_Hazard) September 16, 2016