Antonio Conte admits 26-year-old has put Chelsea in ‘difficulty’
Antonio Conte has admitted that he was not pleased to see Marcos Alonso be booked late in Chelsea's win over Southampton
Antonio Conte has admitted his frustration after Marcos Alonso’s late booking during the win over Southampton on Saturday ruled him out of Chelsea’s League Cup clash next week.
The Spanish full-back scored the only goal of the game for Chelsea on the stroke of half-time with a quality free-kick for Conte’s men.
However, Alonso was booked during the second half of the game at Stamford Bridge, meaning that he will miss Wednesday night’s League Cup quarter-final clash against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
And Conte has admitted that he was not happy with that situation after the Premier League victory on Saturday.
Speaking at his post-match news conference, Conte said of Alonso’s suspension: “I prefer to have all my players available.
“Now there is a problem, also because Davide Zappacosta is recovering from a bad flu. It can happen.
“We must be ready to overcome this difficulty.”
Chelsea have been in fine form in recent weeks, winning eight of their last 10 Premier League games.
However, they are still in third place in the Premier League table following Manchester City’s stunning form this term.
The Blues are facing a significant uphill struggle in trying to retain the Premier League title after winning the trophy in style in Conte’s first season at the club last term.
Chelsea will return to Premier League action next Saturday with a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton.
