Antonio Conte insists his team selection in last night’s Champions League win over Qarabag provided evidence of his faith in fringe players Michy Batshuayi and Andreas Christensen.
After a season-long Champions League exile, the Premier League champions returned to Europe’s elite club competition with a resounding 6-0 win over the Azerbaijani minnows on Tuesday.
Batshuayi has been forced to play second fiddle to record signing Alvaro Morata so far this season, but got off the mark last night with a well-taken goal, while Christensen returned to the starting line-up having been dropped in spite of playing a significant role in the win over Spurs at Wembley in Chelsea’s second game of the season.
‘I wanted to give a good chance to Michy, and also to Christensen,’ said Conte. ‘To play in the Champions League means the coach trusts you.
‘My message tonight was this. I trust all my players, not only with words but with facts.
‘For the first game in the Champions League I decided to start with rotation.
‘Also because we have to start the process to improve our players.
‘If we think we can play with 13 players like last season, we are crazy.
‘Instead, we have to improve our players and try to create a good competition between them. A positive competition is very important.’
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