- Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admits he will plan for Liverpool on journey back
- Conte’s side are flying back from Azerbaijan after beating 10-men Qarabag
- They are due to land back in London in the early hours of Thursday morning
- And will face Liverpool at Anfield in a Premier League clash just two days’ later
Antonio Conte admitted he will be spending the five-and-a-half hour journey back to London planning for Saturday’s crunch clash against Liverpool.
Chelsea booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages with victory over Qarabag in Baku on Wednesday night.
But the Italian manager will not allow himself any downtime for the flight home as he looks to utilise every possible minute ahead of the trip to Anfield.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte admits there is no time to rest after his side beat Qarabag 4-0
Conte is furious his side have 24 hours less to prepare for the clash against Liverpool, who played in Sevilla on Tuesday night.
Chelsea are scheduled to touchdown at Gatwick Airport at around 5am on Thursday morning before reporting for a short cool down session at the club’s Cobham HQ later.
Hazard scored from the spot to open the scoring for Chelsea in Azerbaijan on Wednesday
Willian scored either side of a Cese Fabregas penalty to complete the rout for Chelsea
Conte will have his players in for normal training, the only session he will have to fully prepare his team for the showdown against Jurgen Klopp’s side.
And despite booking Chelsea’s place in the Champions League last 16, Conte will not take his foot off the gas for the flight home from Azerbaijan.
‘For sure, we have to work during the flight to prepare the game against Liverpool,’ said Conte, who watched the Merseysiders’ dramatic 3-3 draw in Spain on Tuesday at the team hotel.
Despite progression through the Champions League, Conte is angry his side have 24 hours less preparation than Liverpool do ahead of their Premier League clash at Anfield on Saturday
‘But I must be honest, with my staff, we started also before to prepare the game against Liverpool, not to arrive at the last moment.
‘For sure, to have only one day to rest and prepare this big game is not simple, not easy. I think also it’s not right.
‘This group is showing great character. From the start, we faced a lot of problems this season. But, despite this, I think our answer was almost always positive.’
And admitted he will be spending the journey back from Azerbaijan planning for the fixture