Antonio Conte Claims Chelsea Face Strong Challenge to Finish in the Top 4 Following Man Utd Loss

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte harbours fears of missing out on Champions League qualification for next season after a damaging defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Blues let slip a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at the Theatre of Dreams to leave them in fifth place in the table after Tottenham beat Crystal Palace.

In-form forward Willian opened the scoring for the west Londoners but they were pegged back by Romelu Lukaku and then Jesse Lingard struck the winner after coming off the bench.

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The Blues are now fifth after 28 games played, and Conte reckons they face a tough task finishing in the top four.

The Italian said, as quoted by BBC Sport: "There is this risk. We must be ready to be concentrated, and to understand this target is an important target for us.

"In this league, getting a place in the Champions League is not simple. We are disappointed with the final result. We had a great chance to get three points against a competitor for a place in the Champions League, but in the end we are talking about another defeat.

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"This country has the only championship where you can find six teams who start the season by fighting to win the title or getting a place in the Champions League."

The former Juventus boss has a job on his hands to make a successful finish to the season at Stamford Bridge, with the FA Cup and Champions League their only remaining sources of possible silverware.