Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says the threat of Stoke substitute Peter Crouch was the reason he replaced Marcos Alonso in his team’s 4-0 win.
Wing-back Alonso was on a yellow card when he was withdrawn just short of the hour for centre-half Gary Cahill.
The Spaniard had hauled down Joe Allen to receive the booking and was involved in another challenge on Mame Biram Diouf moments later but escaped further punishment – Stoke boss Mark Hughes insisted Alonso should have been sent off.
But Conte insisted the change was not made because he feared Alonso was heading for a dismissal.
“It was a tactical substitution,” Conte said. “Mark Hughes brought on Crouch. I remember from last season that we suffered with him.
“I just wanted to reinforce our defensive line with Cahill and to move Cesar Azpilicueta to wing-back.
“Also, because I think Marcos never risked getting a second yellow. I want to underline that it was because of Crouch.
“I saw he was ready to come in and I was prepared for the substitution. With Jesé they play in a different way, with Crouch it’s long-ball. He’s a really strong player and I like him.”
Conte was delighted with his side’s clinical win, courtesy of an Alvaro Morata hat-trick and a Pedro strike.
“I am pleased for his performance and the performance of my team,” the Italian added.
“It is not easy to win away at Stoke. I remember last season when we struggled a lot and won at the end of the game.
“Today we started very well. It was important not to lose our composure. It was a difficult game.”
This post was last modified on 23/09/2017