- Antonio Conte has been slammed for his Chelsea side’s tactics at Manchester City
- Jamie Redknapp believes the Italian is tarnishing his reputation
- The pundit questioned if top clubs would want to hire Conte on the basis of that performance
- READ MORE: Man City 1-0 Chelsea: player ratings, stats and reaction as Guardiola’s side edge closer to title
Former Liverpool and Tottenham star Jamie Redknapp has torn into Chelsea manager Antonio Conte for his negative tactics in yesterday’s 1-0 defeat away to Manchester City.
The reigning Premier League champions did not show a great deal of ambition in an uninspiring performance at the Etihad Stadium that allowed current league leaders City to go 18 points clear at the top of the table.
There seems no doubt now that Pep Guardiola’s side are going to finish the season as champions, but Redknapp was scathing in his assessment of how Chelsea let their crown slip away from them in such a feeble manner on Sunday.
The pundit accused Conte of a ‘crime against football’ with the way he set his side up, and also fired a warning that the Italian will not attract many job offers if he is to leave Chelsea at the end of the season.
Numerous reports have suggested the former Juventus boss’ position is under threat, while Conte himself has been talked up for big jobs such as at Arsenal by Jamie Carragher in a recent column for the Telegraph.
Redknapp’s words, however, could serve as a warning for clubs considering Conte.
‘I said on Sky that what we witnessed at the Etihad was a crime against football and I stand by that view in my column. This is not how champions should play,’ Redknapp wrote in the Daily Mail.
‘Chelsea lined up with no strikers, showed no hunger to get forward and surrendered three points to Manchester City before a ball had even been kicked.
‘The club should refund their supporters who travelled to Manchester and were forced to sit through that abject performance.
‘Not only does Conte risk losing his players and tarnishing last season’s triumph, but he is also damaging his reputation. What chairman would want to hire the Italian on the basis of this surrender at City?
‘Chelsea’s season is in danger of petering out into fifth place. If Conte is to depart at the end of the season, then he should go out swinging punches like a champion. Not like a man resigned to his fate.’
