Hazard And Iniesta Are Two Different Players – Conte

Antonio Conte claimed that Eden Hazard must start winning football’s biggest trophies if he is to bear comparison with a “genius of football” like Andres Iniesta.

“We are talking about two different players [Iniesta and Hazard],” Conte said. “Hazard is more a No. 10. Iniesta is a thinking midfielder. A midfielder that thinks and stays always in the centre of the play, of Barcelona’s play.

“Hazard is more a No. 10 and, for me, can play as a false nine, a second striker. We are talking about two different players with different careers. Iniesta won a lot in his career. Hazard has to start to win important trophies in his career.

“I have great admiration for Andres Iniesta. For him and for the players who created the history of Barcelona: I’m talking about [Gerard] Pique, about [Sergio] Busquets. They have many great players with great talent.

“Iniesta is a genius of football. I like to compare him with Andrea Pirlo. We are talking about a genius, a genius with a football.”

“We come here to do exactly the same job that we did at Stamford Bridge,” Willian insisted. “We know Barcelona always have more possession. They like to have the ball and they like to play. With the ball we have to be more clinical. Without the ball, we have to stay compact like we did at Stamford Bridge.

“We all have to do the same job. We know here the pitch is big, and we have to stay together to make sure we don’t concede goals, but to go for the counter-attacks as well.”