Antonio Conte has hit back at Jose Mourinho after the Manchester United manager’s post-match moan following the Red Devils’ capitulation at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
At the final whistle of a game which saw Chelsea batter United 4-0, Mourinho had a word in Conte’s ear, apparently criticising him for trying to get the home fans more animated in the final minutes of the match.
At the end of what was a humiliating 90 minutes for Mourinho, the Portuguese coach told Conte (in Italian) “It’s just my opinion, but don’t do that at 4-0. You can at 1-0, but at 4-0 it’s humiliation.”
Exclusive Audio: What Jose Mourinho Really Said To Antonio Conte | Man Utd 0-4 Chelsea pic.twitter.com/XDQLEPtjkM
— 90thMin ⚽️ (@90thMin) October 23, 2016
However, speaking about the incident to the Italian media, Conte defended his behaviour and even had a little dig at Mourinho’s lack of experience as a professional footballer.
The Italian said:
I was a football player, so I know how to behave on the pitch.
There were United fans who kept singing, while ours were in silence after a great performance from my team. I wanted to call the crowd to applaud the players, which seems normal enough to me.
I have great respect for everyone. Nothing happened with Jose, especially as my behaviour seemed normal. I didn’t make fun of or humiliate anyone, as I always demand respect.
Which all seems fair enough.
Then again, with the pressure on, we all expect a bitchy (and rather hypocritical) whinge or two from Mourinho, a man who did this…
Mourinho telling Conte not to celebrate too much at 4-0 but what about this Jose??? pic.twitter.com/T5Z4hypdCe
— Bernie Mac (@BernieGRM) October 23, 2016
While Mourinho’s antics may have been entertaining many years ago, it now all seems rather desperate and quite tiresome.