English Premiership

Conte gives up on Chelsea title hopes

2017-12-09 18:09

London - Antonio Conte said Chelsea's hopes of defending their Premier League title are gone following a surprise 1-0 defeat by struggling West Ham on Saturday.

The 48-year-old Italian told Sky Sports that Chelsea's fourth defeat of the campaign had dealt a killer blow to their chances.

Marko Arnautovic's sixth-minute strike was enough to see off a lethargic Chelsea side and give West Ham only their third win of the season.

"We have to consider that this is the fourth game we've lost in 16 games," said Conte.

"In my previous experience, it won't be possible to fight for the title. With four defeats in 16 games, we must have another target."

That target, he told the BBC, is now to ensure there is Champions League football next season.

"There are six top teams and four go to Champions League," said Conte, who blamed fatigue for his players under-par performance.

"We have to fight and do our best."

His downcast appearance was in stark contrast to his West Ham counterpart David Moyes, who saw his players succeed in holding onto a 1-0 lead unlike last weekend when they allowed Manchester City to come back and win 2-1.

"The win, the spirit of the team, how they stuck together and more that importantly a lot of the basics were done well today - all that really pleased me," Moyes, who replaced the sacked Slaven Bilic last month, told Sky Sports.

Victory was not enough for the Hammers to climb out of the bottom three but Moyes - who is aiming to succeed where he failed with Sunderland last season by keeping West Ham up - can see brighter times ahead.

"We got a big boost from the performance at Manchester City, that was something we could talk about positively, and we do have the players to threaten in attack once we get the back end sorted out," he said.

NEXT ON SPORT24X

What To Read Next

 

Read News24’s Comments Policy

Live Video Streaming
Video Highlights
Sport Talk

Fixtures
Saturday, 09 December 2017
Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion, Liberty Stadium 17:00
Crystal Palace v AFC Bournemouth, Selhurst Park 17:00
Huddersfield Town v Brighton & Hove Albion, The John Smith's Stadium 17:00
Burnley v Watford, Turf Moor 17:00
Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City, Wembley Stadium 17:00
Newcastle United v Leicester City, St. James' Park 19:30
Sunday, 10 December 2017
Southampton v Arsenal, St. Mary's Stadium 14:00
Liverpool v Everton, Anfield 16:15
Manchester United v Manchester City, Old Trafford 18:30
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
Burnley v Stoke City, Turf Moor 21:45
Crystal Palace v Watford, Selhurst Park 22:00
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea, The John Smith's Stadium 22:00
Logs
Team P W PTS
Previous Results

Date Home Team Result Away Team
Vote

Who will claim the Premier League title at the end of the 2017/18 season?

Men
Women
Love 2 Meet
English Premiership flutter

Take Sport24's "expert" tips at your peril...

Sport24 on Twitter

Follow Sport24 news on Twitter

Featured

The 2017/18 Absa Premiership season is under way. Can Bidvest Wits defend their title? Will Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates emerge victorious? Or will the bookies' favourites, Mamelodi Sundowns, taste success for a record eighth time? Stay glued to Sport24 to find out!

Latest blogs
 

Twitter Follow Sport24 on Twitter

Facebook "Like" Sport24's Facebook page

WIN Enter and win with Sport24!

BlackBerry Stay in the loop on your BlackBerry

RSS Feeds Sport news delivered really simply.

 
There are new stories on the homepage. Click here to see them.