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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte continues to have a war of words with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, and he recently clarified the grumblings between the two. Mourinho has been at loggerheads with Conte ever since suffering a 4-0 loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which used to be his former stomping ground. At the end of the game, Mourinho exchanged words with Conte, who seemed to celebrate rather extravagantly – although this has been his character throughout his managerial career. Conte’s celebrations have made him a hero at Chelsea and the Italian’s passion has never been questioned.

Mourinho has recently suggested that he would not to act like a ‘clown’ in the technical area while also referring to Conte’s four-month suspension for not reporting a match fixing scandal in Italy. Even though Conte was cleared of the same a few months later, Mourinho refused to acknowledge the verdict.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has stressed that the Blues did not have the luck on their side as they succumbed to a 4-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The tie was equally poised after a 1-1 stalemate at Stamford Bridge, but the Blaugrana were more clinical in front of goal at the Camp Nou as they secured a comfortable 3-0 win in the end.

Speaking to Sport Mediaset, Conte admitted that the result in the second-leg was probably unfair with the Blues having dominated the proceedings in the midfield, only to find themselves short of an outlet in the final third. He said: “Luck appears to have turned its back on us this season, even though I don't like to pin everything on misfortune. But I do think tonight's result was unfair. They were good and clinical, but Barcelona have players who are used to these games.”

Chelsea favourite Gianfranco Zola believes Antonio Conte must tweak his tactics in order to play Eden Hazard in his preferred position behind the main striker. The Belgium international has been forced to play in a false nine position in Alvaro Morata's injury absence, and this has restricted his chances of influencing play from the wider positions.

In a report covered by Goal.com, Zola urged Conte to utilise Hazard in an attacking midfield role where he can interact with the main centre-forward, he said: "When Hazard plays deeper, it allows him to come off the pressure and run at players. It’s perfect for him.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has claimed that the blues may need to take each game as they come after the goalless draw with Everton on Saturday. It was a hugely disappointing result for the defending champions, who already look like out of the title race. However, this result may have just confirmed that this position as Chelsea are now an incredible 16 points behind Manchester City, who were unable to get a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth. After the recent disappointment against West Ham, Conte claimed that Chelsea’s hopes of winning the title may have effectively gone.

Now, the manager is now under major pressure in order to avoid the club from dropping out of the top four. After having already missed out on the Champions League last season, the blues will want to retain this top-level European football at any cost. Chelsea were not disappointing against Everton by any stretch of the imagination, as the team had 11 players having a pop at goal while the team also recorded 25 efforts at goal in total. Yet, Jordan Pickford was able to stand up to the task on each occasion and several Everton players also had an excellent game.

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has insisted that the Blues were not in the right frame of mind during Saturday's shock 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. The Eagles had not registered a goal or point in the first seven matches of the campaign, but they turned out with a renewed vigour against the Premier League champions.

Speaking to French outlet SFR Sport, Courtois admitted that the players on the field were not good enough on the day, whilst also including himself, he said, "The 11 players on the pitch were not at the right level. We were not as intense as they [Palace] were at the beginning. Then we were very unlucky with the first goal – and we can barely even call it a goal."