It’s a crucial time at the Bridge and this is a season that needs to end with a trophy.
There has been a lot of talk recently about players leaving and new players coming in, but that should be put on the hold for now because the Conte situation needs to be fixed first. Is he staying or is he going? There has been speculation about Antonio’s future at the club for months. The club would never give us an update right before a final but it’s the big question everyone is waiting for the answer to.
Saturday is an enormous game for the Blues. Man Utd is the team that wants to beat Chelsea more then anyone, with Mourinho preparing like this is the game of his life. He will be at training all week telling his players to fight for their lives, and I am sure he will be trying to come up with a trick to surprise Chelsea. We need to be ready and I hope Conte will be masking his disappointment at the board so we can have a cracking final. We need Conte to be the focused and resilient manager he was during his first season.
There is a lot at stake and whichever manager fails to win the final will see it is a massive disappointment. And they would be right – when you are at a club like Chelsea or United you need to win something every season, and when you don’t you haven’t progressed. The manager, players, board and fans of one of the clubs will be gutted. But whatever the result, please come out with the news after the game is over so that Conte knows what’s next and we know as fans, so preparations can begin for next season.
United haven’t found the net in two of their last three finals, while Chelsea haven’t scored more than two goals in their last seven finals, regardless of the result. That stat combined with Mourinho’s philosophy suggests a big goal might be all that’s needed from either side. The last time the sides met in the final was 2007, when Mourinho led Chelsea to a 1-0 victory after extra time. He will be in the opposite dugout this time, and if he is the victor it will silence some of the fans that have criticised his playing style at Old Trafford this season.
United have been in City’s shadow all season, but have had a good season winning 81 points in the league. That’s the same number of points Leicester earned to win the title last season, and it would have been enough to win the title six seasons out of the 16 since the PL began.
Chelsea have missed out on the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, but adding some silverware would salvage the season a little bit for Conte.
Big games need big players, so the Blues need to step it up, and the big players need to show up and make things happen.
#mmlove