Antonio Conte Praises His Players' Reaction After Conceding Second-Half Goal Against Liverpool

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte seemed content to have to settle for a draw with Liverpool at Anfield, with his men going down in the first half, but mounting a late surge to save a point against the Reds on Saturday.

The Blues put in an exemplary performance overall, but a momentary lapse in concentration saw Mohamed Salah put one past Thibaut Courtois in the second half.

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Conte sent willian on for Davide Zappacosta with the match nearing its end, and the Brazilian immediately repaid by hitting a sublime chip - that may or may not have been inadvertent - over Simon Mignolet to level the scores at 1-1.

Speaking after the game, the Italian admitted being disappointed, but was pleased with the reaction shown by his players after a grueling week with minimal rest.

"Yes, I must be honest and be disappointed, but today we put in a good performance in the first half, we were always solid with the ball and in the second created a lot of chances," Conte told the BBC.

"I saw a good reaction from my players despite long travel and little rest for them, but they would not accept defeat. We created chances for a second goal, and its not simple to play at Anfield. We tried to fight and tried to win."

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Asked about Willian's equaliser, the manager said: "I don’t know, I have not spoken to him. We were unlucky with their goal, but a draw was a good result, and maybe we deserved to win at the end.

"We must be pleased because we have gone to the next round of the Champions League, and this was our third away game. We have to continue in this way, have good enthusiasm and keep rotating as it is very hard to play every three days."

Willian, meanwhile, insists he meant to shoot and not cross.

"It was a shot," he told Match of the Day. "It was beautiful!"