Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has insisted that he saw a “lot of positives”, despite his side going down 2-1 to West Ham United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
The Blues, who named youngsters Ola Aina and Nathaniel Chalobah in their starting line-up for the game at the Olympic Stadium, found themselves a goal behind in the 11th minute after Cheikhou Kouyate headed home, with Edimilson Fernandes doubling the Hammers’ advantage three minutes into the second half.
Gary Cahill reduced the arrears in injury time, but it turned out to be too little too late for Chelsea as they were knocked out of the domestic cup competition.
And Conte, who was pleased with the youngsters’ performances against West Ham, feels his charges showed the “right spirit” in the game irrespective of the result.
“I prefer to speak always about the whole team but I think this cup is very important to check the development of these young players”, the Italian manager told the club’s official site.
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“We have good young players and they need to play.
"I think the youngsters played a good game with the right intensity and concentration. When you lose it’s normal to see bad things but tonight [Wednesday] I found a lot of positives.
“Usually you learn more after a defeat than a win but we must continue to work. I’m optimistic because I saw the right spirit and that’s very important. You can lose or win but you must have the right spirit. If I see that, I see a clear future.”
Chelsea will next play Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday, and Conte insisted that he is expecting a tough outing at St. Mary's Stadium.
“Tomorrow [Thursday] we start to work for Sunday’s game. We know we will play a very tough game against Southampton, who are in a good moment”, he continued.
Chelsea are currently fourth in the Premier League with 19 points from nine games, just one point adrift of leaders Manchester City.
