Chelsea manager Antonio Conte (File | AP) 
Sports News

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte hits back at Manchester United counterpart Jose Mourinho over injury jibe

Conte is without N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater, while Alvaro Morata has just returned to fitness.

From our online archive

LONDON: Antonio Conte warned Jose Mourinho to stop talking about Chelsea after the Manchester United boss criticised managers who complain about injuries.

Defending United's cautious tactics in last weekend's draw at Liverpool and Wednesday's 1-0 win over Benfica, Mourinho made it clear he had opted for a conservative approach because his side are missing key players.

But Mourinho insisted that wasn't making excuses, a charge he believes others are guilty of in the Premier League.

Chelsea boss Conte has repeatedly mentioned his team's injury problems during their current winless run, which extended to three matches after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Roma on Wednesday.

Conte is without N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater, while Alvaro Morata has just returned to fitness.

"I never speak about injuries. Other managers, they cry, they cry, they cry when a player is injured," Mourinho said after the win in Benfica.

"If I wanted to moan and others I could cry like the others for five minutes; Ibrahimovic, Fellaini, Pogba, Rojo."

Told of Mourinho's comments by a journalist, Conte asked if they were aimed at him.

When the response was yes, Conte visibly bristled before angrily telling former Chelsea boss Mourinho to mind his own business.

"If this is for me my answer is this -- he has to think of his team and look at himself not the others," Conte said. 

"A lot of times Mourinho has to see what happened in Chelsea. Also last season. He has to look at his team."

Xi Jinping to visit India for BRICS summit, first trip since 2019

'My broken jaw an unalterable brave scar of history': Stalin responds to TN CM Vijay's MISA jibe

IRCTC scam case: Court orders framing of charges against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi

Karnataka SIR: Nandan Nilekani, CM's mother, Shiva Rajkumar, Zerodha founders among names flagged

'Nobody can browbeat victim': SC seeks report on alleged harassment of minor CJP protester