Manchester City are the hottest team in Europe right now and are not only bulldozing everyone in front of them, but also breaking records. The Premier League leaders are currently extending the record for most consecutive English top-flight victories and with their 15th win in a row against Swansea, they defeated Arsenal’s record from 2002.
However, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte isn’t happy with how their title rivals have gone about getting this incredible success. The Italian boss has made his frustration clear at their “overspending” after the Citizens were reported to be interested in Liverpool and Arsenal target, Virgil van Dijk. Conte went on to say that he will rival Pep Guardiola for the signature of the Southampton centre-back.
This came in the post-match press conference after Chelsea’s drab 1-0 win over the Saints at the weekend as the Blues manager was asked about the possibility of signing the Dutch defender. While he took a sly jab at City’s spending habits, he also complimented his Spanish counterpart on the way he has invested the money, which is clearly paying off.
Conte’s side are continuing to fall away from retaining their Premier League trophy as they are currently 14 points behind Man City in the race for the title. The man in the Stamford Bridge technical area has admitted himself that he can’t see the current holders catching Guardiola’s side as the mountain they have to climb is far too steep. It will take a huge demise for the leaders and a great second half of the season for the current third-placed team.
Even the biggest Blues fan will tell you that it is an unrealistic ask for them to challenge at the top at this stage. Although, if they do manage to secure the signature of Van Dijk in January, it will sure up their defence, which has been shaky on a few occasions this term but it won’t be until the 2018/19 season where Chelsea can properly mount an attempt at another Premier League title.
Header image by Clément Bucco-Lechat [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
