Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has defended his decision to dropp star man Eden Hazard to the bench for their game against Huddersfield on Wednesday night.
Reports from the Daily Star suggest that Conte has been criticised for not naming a strong team, one that would have got the result they needed in this important game.
In a must win game for Chelsea, neither Hazard or Olivier Giroud were named in the starting XI as the Blues only managed a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.
Conte’s men had to realistically win the game to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive, whilst Huddersfield were looking to secure their safety in the top-flight.
Laurent Depoitre scored to put the Terriers into a shock lead before Marcos Alonso grabbed an equaliser via a fluke rebound.
The Terriers held strong until the final whistle and the draw meant they secured their Premier League status for another season but the decision to leave out Hazard and Giroud surprised fans, and proved costly to the Blues.
Conte defended his decision as he said:
I made a rotation also against Burnley. To make rotations means to play people like Morata, Willian and Christensen who could play every game.
Conte also believes that he side is strong enough to win games, regardless of who starts.
We have a squad that can win, we spent a lot of energy against Liverpool.
