Conte Praises Chelsea Commitment  (Sky Sports)

Antonio Conte has praised the commitment of his Chelsea players despite falling to a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City - and even complimented their opponents.

A stunning strike from Kevin de Bruyne was enough to send City back to the top of the Premier League on goal difference, with Chelsea offering little in reply although they did lose in-form striker Alvaro Morata to an early injury.

And while Conte admitted he was not happy with the result, he said that his players "gave everything" and even gave the visitors a glowing review.

"For sure, there is disappointment for the result but I think at the same time I am pleased with the commitment of my players," he said.

"Today we gave everything and after the game you can win or you can lose but the most important thing is to see your players give everything. Today that happened.

"For sure we played against a very good team in Manchester City. We created chances to score but we did not take [them]. City created a chance and they were very good to take the chance to score. In this type of game it is very important to score first. Great compliments to Manchester City.

"Last season, Manchester City was a very good team, very strong. I think after this transfer market they improved their strength a lot. But I repeat, it is right to complement them. We have to accept the result because today we gave everything.

"Damage or no damage we have to go game by game and to do our best. Then we will see at the end of season what happens and where we finish in the league."

Although both sides were in midweek Champions League action, Chelsea had less time to prepare for Saturday's game than their opponents following their trip to Madrid, and Conte admitted that it can affect players' performance.

"About this issue, I think I have already spoken. To repeat the same concepts is not good because we could take this as an excuse," he added.

"But for sure, when you have to play another massive game only two days later, you must consider the fatigue in the legs of your players. For example, it is impossible to press box to box because after 30 minutes you have no energy to continue to play this game.

"When you play against City or this type of team, they like to have possession of the ball and you have to consider two tactical aspects. Either you go very high to press and play a game of great intensity but you must do this for the whole game. In the other case, you must be disciplined and try to close the space, and then try to exploit the space behind their defenders."