Chelsea 'lacked everything' in damning defeat against Roma, admits Antonio Conte

The Italian also bemoaned the lack of consistency that has become a problem in an 'up and down' season for the Blues

Antonio Conte looks on after the final whistle in Rome (Getty)

Antonio Conte said that Chelsea “lacked everything” in a dismal second-half performance of their 3-0 Champions League defeat against Roma, and that the team will have to “dig deep” and “use this loss” to find an appropriate response against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Italian also bemoaned the lack of consistency that has become a problem in an “up and down” season and seemed to warn his players not to get complacent, as he said they should not think opponents will merely “fear of the name Chelsea”.

The Premier League champions became the first English club to suffer defeat in Europe this season, in what was a miserable first match back in Italy for Conte. He actually thought they played well and were just unlucky in the first half, even though that was when they conceded two goals, as the side descended into chaos in a calamitous second half that saw an otherwise razor-sharp Roma miss two big chances.

“I actually believe we played a good match in the first half, but were 2-0 down. We could have scored after 30 seconds and then suffered on the break. We created many chances, were not clinical and ruthless enough, then suffered from their second shot on target. What I'm most disappointed about was the performance in the second half when Roma had more hunger, more desire, more fight to beat us and clearly deserved this win.

“I was clear. I was satisfied with the first half performance and the score was unfair. But we lacked everything in the second half and Roma were the better team in every point, in terms of motivation and hunger. They won all the duels and more than deserved this win.”

Asked what the consequences would be if Chelsea played like that in their next match, Conte said: “I don't know what will happen on Sunday against Manchester United. I know very well Manchester United are a really good team... For sure, we have to try to find the strength to understand and to use this loss in the right way.

"Because, as I said before, in this season we have to dig very deep, very deep, if we want to be competitive and to fight for something important. If we are not ready to dig deep, we can have this type of game. Yes. We have to know this. Because, I repeat, this season will be very difficult if we don't understand quickly the right way that we have to go.

Chelsea put in a lacklustre display in the second half (Getty)

“We are going through ups and downs this season and, to be competitive, you need consistency. That's been lacking so far, but we have to find a way of overcoming them.

“For sure, my task is to try to find the best solution. To try to avoid this type of game. But, for sure, we have to work together. We need to have the will – I repeat – to dig deep. If we think that only because our name is Chelsea, and the opponent have fear of the name Chelsea, this is not the right way.

"We have to find the hunger we showed all last season and, this season, only sometimes. But this season has been up and down. If you are a great team you must have stability. You must have consistency. At this moment we are struggling a lot to find this type of balance.”

Conte said he was not shocked by the second half, but just disappointed as he saw nothing good about his side.

“There is greater disappointment for our second half. Great disappointment because I didn't see positive things. In the first half, I repeat, I think we were unlucky. As you know, I don't like to speak about luck or no luck but, in the first half, we created many chances and were unlucky we didn't take them. But in the second half there is a great disappointment.

"That was really, really bad. Bad for a team like us. Last season we showed great hunger, great will to do something important. We won the league and did a miracle. But if we want to be competitive this season we have to avoid these ups and downs. A great team must have stability and great desire to be protagonists in every game.”

Meanwhile, N'Golo Kante is still only 50-50 to play for Chelsea against Manchester United on Sunday, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.


 Kante is continuing his recovery from injury (Getty)

The influential French midfielder is back in training with the first team, and it had been anticipated that he might return for the eventual 3-0 thrashing away to Roma on Tuesday night, but manager Antonio Conte spoke with the player before the game and they decided it wasn't yet right to start him.

Asked when he came through the mixed zone whether he would be ready for Sunday's crunch match, Kante signalled that he would be 50-50.

Conte will continue to assess the situation over the next few days and told the Italian media on Tuesday: "After an important muscular problem, it would be stupid to risk it, so when Kante feels at 100 per cent, he will return to playing."