Former Chelsea star questions Conte’s role in success

Matt Stead

Chelsea’s players deserve far more credit than Antonio Conte for their success this season, according to Ricardo Carvalho.

Carvalho, who won three Premier League titles and four more trophies in six years at Chelsea, believes the Italian inherited “great players” when he was appointed manager in the summer.

He accepts that Conte has affected a successful change in their formation, but points out that the majority of these players won the Premier League title two years ago under Jose Mourinho.

“The truth is that Chelsea have great players too. They were champions with Mourinho,” he told Omnisport.

“The next year things did not go well, but the players are there. The players who have been champions, most are there.

“And so, of course, Conte has merit too because he changed the team’s strategy a bit, but most of the players who were champions with Mourinho were there.

“So quality and talent were there. And this [season], fortunately, they are playing well and will manage to win again, at least they are well on the way.”