Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has slammed his manager Antonio Conte’s decision to substitute the Blues star attacker Eden Hazard during their disappointing 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford last Sunday.
As we said here the Stamford Bridge club’s Italian coach seemed to hand the initiative to Jose Mourinho’s side when he withdrew his teams best player in the 73rd minute, with Jesse Lingard heading the home side to victory just two minutes later.
Conte admitted after the game that Hazard was not injured, and that the decision to withdraw the player was for tactical reasons.
However, Chelsea’s 25-year-old keeper Courtois has made it blatantly clear that he was not in agreement with his managers decision.
“I have no explanation for the sub of Hazard,”
“I had not expected him to take him off but it is a choice of the manager. He must explain. I can’t look into his head.
“Players like Eden should have 90 minutes on the pitch. He can always bring something extra offensive.” he said.
Courtois has been stalling over signing a new deal with Chelsea, and this latest outburst will do little to dampen speculation that he is eager to secure a move to Real Madrid next summer.