Chelsea's Antonio Conte disappointed with Burnley draw - 'It's a pity'

Vaishali Bhardwaj12 February 2017

Antonio Conte expressed his disappointment that his Chelsea side could not break down a stubborn Burnley team at Turf Moor on Sunday, saying it was a "pity" the Blues dropped two points.

Pedro opened the scoring for the Premier League leaders in only the seventh minute before Robbie Brady - who was making his first start since joining Burnley for a club-record deal - restored parity with his superb free kick in the 24th minute.

Burnley had further chances to score, but Chelsea managed to hold Sean Dyche's side at bay to walk away from the league clash with a point which Conte admitted he was disappointed with.

Speaking about the 1-1 draw, which leaves Chelsea 10 points clear of Tottenham and Arsenal, the Italian told Sky Sports: "It's a pity because we started well and then Burnley found the goal with a free kick. It's a draw but we must be disappointed.

"We started well, but we kept the situation under control and created chances to score. Maybe we could have won the game but it didn't happen. In the second half, it became a physical game with long balls.

"To play here is not easy. At home, Burnley are a strong team. I repeat: we found a strong team, very tough, but for sure there is disappointment.

"We know this [that there is much work to do to win the title] and now there are 13 games until the end of the season. We know that the way is long. We must continue to fight and we were a bit unlucky."

In Pictures | Burnley vs Chelsea | 12/02/2017

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Dyche, meanwhile, praised his side for reacting positively to Pedro's opener and admitted his team had been "brave" to go head-to-head with Conte's high-flying Blues squad.

"[I am] Both impressed and pleased. You're taking on a fine side. We limited them to two efforts on target, which is tough, and we created a few chances," he said.

"The mentality is why I'm pleased. There is growth in the side and they are mature. [I am] Super impressed with the reaction to Pedro's goal. No kind of disappointment - we stayed on the front foot. We wanted to be brave and stick to what we do.

"After the first 20 minutes, we did. We changed things slightly and then we looked stronger."

When then asked about Brady's goal, he replied: "He has to get used to other parts of the game but he has a strong left foot and that's certainly why we signed him."

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