FA Cup final: Conte reacts to Chelsea’s loss, Moses’ red card

Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte has reacted to the defeat his side suffered in the FA Cup final against Arsenal on Saturday.

The Italian admitted Chelsea did not start the game well, adding that wing back, Victor Moses’ red card was a key moment in the game.

Conte, who has won the Premier League title with Chelsea in his first season at the club insisted he and his players are proud of their achievement.

He also said Alexis Sanchez’s opening goal should not have stood.

He told post-match conference, “Our start wasn’t good enough, Arsenal started the game better than us.

“Honestly, I think the first goal should have been disallowed because there was a clear handball, but our start wasn’t good for the first 20-25 minutes.

“Then, after that we started to play. In the second half we started very well and created chances to equalise.

“The second yellow card for Moses was one of the key moments but despite the situation we were able to equalise.

“Then we conceded after 30 seconds or something and that was the key moment for our loss. We created another chance through Diego and Ospina made a fantastic save.”

Asked about the decision to show Moses a second yellow card, Conte said, “For me now it’s very difficult to tell because I saw contact with Moses and their player but I don’t know if it was a penalty or not. It was one of the key moments.”

On why he introduced Cesc Fabregas for Nemanja Magic, Italian explained, “I put Cesc on after 60 minutes because we wanted to try to have more quality in our passes and make vertical passes.

“Matic played a really good game but if you see our past, sometimes I’ve made this change when we have been losing or drawing.”

Conte said Chelsea will still be classed as a success after winning the Premier League title.

“Now the most important thing is to give a correct evaluation of our season because for me it was incredible. Every single player performed at 120 or 130 per cent in every game.

“We didn’t have many injuries. It’s very important to understand this.

“Our season was incredible because every player worked very hard and next season for sure we must pay great attention to understand we have to improve in terms of numbers and quality.

“That’s very important and we must be very cold when we analyse the situation and understand this season we did something great.

“This season has been a great one for us, to win the league with 30 victories, and reach the final of the FA Cup is incredible.

“My players must keep in their mind our fantastic season and also this final, because you have to reach this point to play the final. We must be proud.”