Antonio Conte harshly reproached Lautaro Martinez, who had showed his frustration for being replaced: ‘Never react like this again,’ the coach allegedly said.
Lautaro started on the bench against Roma, but was thrown in after 35 minutes to replace the injured Alexis Sanchez.
However, the coach decided to sub him off after 70 minutes and the Argentinean striker didn’t take it well.
Lautaro kicked a bottle of water on the sidelines while he was on his way to the bench and Conte reacted immediately.
Antonio Conte harshly reproached Lautaro Martinez, who had showed his frustration for being replaced: ‘Never react like this again,’ the coach allegedly said.
Lautaro started on the bench against Roma, but was thrown in after 35 minutes to replace the injured Alexis Sanchez.
However, the coach decided to sub him off after 70 minutes and the Argentinean striker didn’t take it well.
Lautaro kicked a bottle of water on the sidelines while he was on his way to the bench and Conte reacted immediately.
“Have respect! Who are you angry with? Never react like this again,” the coach told Lautaro according to Sky Sport Italia.
Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini explained what happened after the game.
Conte didn’t release a post-match interview to avoid questions about the financial situation of the club.
“This is something that also happened to me 14 years ago when Conte was my coach and I was still a player. He substituted me after 20 minutes,” Stellini told Sky Sport Italia.
“This is an example of the mentality we want to see. Even if the result is already secure, we expect all the players to give the maximum effort.
“At that moment, Lautaro was not playing up to the right standard and we want players who are always fully focused.
“Some things remain on the pitch, it’s all in the past now and we will look forward to the next match.”