Antonio Conte insists his decision to drop David Luiz from Chelsea's matchday squad was ‘tactical’

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Antonio Conte has maintained that David Luiz getting dropped from Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester United was a "tactical decision" even though the defender was left out of the match-day squad altogether.

There had been speculation that the Brazilian had been punished for his reaction to getting subbed off during the dismal 3-0 defeat to Roma but he dismissed there was anything more to it than form.

Conte also praised the contribution of Andreas Christensen.

“It's only a tactical decision, only a tactical decision, only a tactical decision,” he explained.

“It's normal. This can happen to every one of my players, if I see that they are not in good form. It's normal. I repeat: I have to put my face in every situation, and then to sometimes make important decisions. Today I did this and I think Christensen played a massive game. I was very happy for this.”

“It's very simple, no? Very simple. The coach has to make the best decision for the team, and tonight the best decision for the team was to play with Christensen and to have, on the bench, [Ethan] Ampadu. Another young player. A really good player for the present and the future.

“Maybe in the future I can decide a different way, or continue in this way. That's normal. I must take the best decision for the club, not for a single player. Sometimes I can make mistakes. Sometimes I can do the best things for my team.”

Asked about how he had only recently said David Luiz is his best defender, Conte said: “It can change, it can change.”

Conte had also earlier been asked about whether David Luiz had a future at the club, and appeared to state that would only be the case if he worked, but later clarified this and stated that he didn't intend to cast doubt on the Brazilian's future. He instead joked about the speculation regarding his own future.

“No... [checks]. I think that I have a squad. I have a squad with 16 senior players, and five young players. I have these players, and then I repeat I have to make the best decision for the team. I try to do this. But are you talking about the future? Every day you put my future (in the spotlight). I think it's normal that, from now until the end, every game, every day, someone puts my future in discussion. In question.”