Antonio Conte warns Chelsea to feel the danger following first defeat to Liverpool

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has warned his players to "feel the danger in every moment of the game" should they want to avoid the mistakes of last season, following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Friday night (16 September).

Meanwhile, the boss backed his decision to bring on Victor Moses and Pedro Rodriguez ahead of Michy Batshuayi later in the game as he wanted to advance the position of Eden Hazard in a bid to secure a late comeback.

The Blues managed to put behind them their disappointed last campaign with an impressive start to the life under Conte, securing nine points from the first three Premier League games of the campaign.

However, they slipped their first defeat of the season against Liverpool on Friday following a 2-2 draw at Swansea.

Conte admits his responsibility over the defeat, but warned that his players also need to avoid the complacency of last season should they want to turn things around this term.

"Every single game is very tough and we mustn't forget last season. That's important because it was a bad season and I don't want to repeat that. When you finish in 10<sup>th place it's something strange, it's not natural or simple. It means we have to work very hard to improve," the Chelsea boss said in the press conference. "I'm guilty because I'm the coach and it means I have to work more. We must feel the danger in every single moment of the game if we want to win and think like a great team. We must pay attention and be focused."

Yet, the Italian boss rues the lack of concentration of his players during the first-half as an unmarked Dejan Lovren put Liverpool ahead before Jordan Henderson double the lead with a stunning strike.

"In the first half, I must be honest, I think we gave away two goals," the boss said. "The first goal came after a free-kick which they took very quickly and the second after a throw-in. From long distance it was a great goal, but when you give away two goals in that way it's very difficult."

Diego Costa gave Chelsea some hope earlier in the second half with his fifth goal in five Premier League games. Conte this decided to delay making changes after the 84<sup>th minute of the game, when he introduced Cesc Fabregas, Moses and Pedro chasing a later equaliser.

Some questioned both his late substitutions and the snub to Batshuayi after the Belgium impressed during the first games of the campaign.

But Conte explained: "In the second half we started with the same players and you saw another game, with great intensity. We scored the goal and created chances, so, for this reason, I waited to make the substitutions. In the last 10 minutes, I changed three players to try to give freshness and change the result."

"In that moment I had to decide whether or not to put two wingers in. I wanted to change a midfielder to put Fabregas on but it could have been Batshuayi and not either Moses or Pedro. I needed to put Hazard closer to Diego."