Despite the fact that Chelsea ran away with the Premier League title last season, the first of the Antonio Conte era, the Blues boss is still very much on the hot seat. Conte’s side has now fallen to fifth place in the league table, one slot out of the top four. They have long out of the league title race for a very long time.
The job security of Antonio Conte has been a major talking point all season long, not just because of the results, but also many of the things he’s said in news conferences. Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich is notorious for his itchy trigger finger regarding the fate of his managers, and Antonio Conte has made plenty of public remarks that sound like tempting fate.
Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit, speaking at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards, told Omnisport what he believes Conte needs to do in order to keep his job- beat Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League and advance to the tournament quarterfinals.
“If he gets Barcelona out of the Champions League, then it will be very difficult to replace him,” said Gullit.
“He knows that, he knows also that the championship in England is difficult now to get. They know that as well.”
“Manchester City have now won the EFL Cup so they have the confidence, it’s hard for them to lose any points…So the best thing is to focus yourself on the Champions League.”
Gullit could be on to something here, as Chelsea looked really good in the first leg of the Champions League tie with Barca. Willian could have easily had a hat trick in that game, and that 1-1 draw at home. They very easily could have emerged from Stamford Bridge with a victory.
Antonio Conte and company may have been big underdogs entering the tie, but now they look to be on more even footing.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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