Antonio Conte claims Chelsea were “one mistake” away from ‘perfection’ against Barcelona but backs them to do “something incredible” at Camp Nou.
Willian had given Chelsea the lead in Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg, until Andreas Christensen’s mistake gifted Lionel Messi his first-ever goal against the Blues, earning Barca a 1-1 draw ahead of the return fixture in three weeks’ time.
“We were close to playing the perfect performance,” Conte told BT Sport after the game.
Antonio Conte claims Chelsea were “one mistake” away from ‘perfection’ against Barcelona but backs them to do “something incredible” at Camp Nou.
Willian had given Chelsea the lead in Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg, until Andreas Christensen’s mistake gifted Lionel Messi his first-ever goal against the Blues, earning Barca a 1-1 draw ahead of the return fixture in three weeks’ time.
“We were close to playing the perfect performance,” Conte told BT Sport after the game.
“We made one mistake. It is a pity and we are disappointed with the final result. Christensen? It was an incredible performance.
“We are talking about a very young player. It is great that he is able to play this game with maturity and personality. He was one of the best players.
“It is very difficult to mention one player but I think Christensen played a top game and I was very pleased with his performance.
“We made one mistake but we know against these opponents and players like Messi, Iniesta and Suarez, if you make a mistake you pay.
“The second leg? It won’t be easy. We must be realistic because we are talking about Barcelona and they showed they are a really strong and fantastic team.
“But we also showed we are ready to work really hard in defence and have the right feeling when we get the ball to create the chances to score.
“We have to respect the opponent and when you play against Barcelona you know very well that if you go box to box that is crazy.
“The game could not only be 1-0 but 2-0, or 4-0, 5-0, 6-0. We can try to do something incredible at Camp Nou and we must play an intelligent game – we are not stupid.”