Chelsea
manager Antonio Conte has apologised after Cesc Fabregas' red card during
Wednesday's friendly clash with Liverpool.
Gary Cahill's early header saw the Blues come away with a 1-0 victory during
the International Champions Cup tie in California, despite going down to 10
men in the 70th minute.
The Spain international flew into a dangerous tackle on new Liverpool
defender Ragnar Klavan before receiving a straight sending off. Six other
players were booked during the feisty encounter.
Speaking on the incident, Conte said: "I'm sorry for this and the player is
the same. To the player, I said no excuses and I'm sorry for him and I'm
sorry for the Liverpool player.
"I think that in this period, the fatigue sometimes can [cause a player] to
go too late in the situation. I know Fabregas is a good man and he's not a
player to have this type of situation. I'm sorry for him and I'm sorry for
the Liverpool player."
Former Italy boss Conte has made two signings since arriving at Stamford
Bridge, bringing in N'Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi, and has reportedly
shown interest in striker Carlos Tevez.
The pair worked together at Juventus during the 2013/14 season and earlier
this week, Tevez claimed Conte wanted to bring him to Stamford Bridge - but
revealed he wants to finish his career with current club Boca Juniors.
When asked about Chelsea's reported interest in the 32-year-old, Conte only
had good wishes for his former player.
"Carlos was my player when I was coach at Juventus and I had a fantastic
season with him and I appreciated Carlos as a player and also as a man," the
manager said.
"But now I know he is a player of Boca Juniors and he did a lot back in
Argentina last season and I wish the best for him and his family."
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