Chelsea: Conte gives Hazard chance to prove himself alongside Giroud

Antonio Conte refrained from going full Marcello Lippi and benching Eden Hazard, but he still named another new lineup to face Crystal Palace. Olivier Giroud is back in a London derby starting XI, ready to lead Chelsea’s line between Hazard and Willian.

Perhaps Antonio Conte was communicating to Chelsea’s players through the press even as he explicitly said he would not communicate to his players through the press. Conte told the story on Friday of how Marcello Lippi reacted when Conte criticized Lippi’s role for him in a public interview. In short, it ended with Conte on the bench and involved plenty of dressing-down in front of the full Juventus squad.

Conte may have used the tale not just to relate a formative episode in his own career, but to say “Eden Hazard, it could happen to you.” If that was his intent, we will see if it worked, as Conte chose to keep Hazard in the starting XI in his preferred role as a No. 10 alongside a true striker.

While Hazard is not on the bench, Alvaro Morata is. Olivier Giroud will start up top for the Blues. As Travis pointed out yesterday, this move has as much to do with Barcelona as it does Crystal Palace.

Chelsea need either a win or a minimum of two goals in a draw to advance in the Champions League. In short, they need offence. Potentially lots of it, at one of the most difficult grounds in Europe (although one where the Blues are an outlier of success). Antonio Conte cannot reprise his defensive tactics from the first leg or the Manchester City game. He must drive for the win, and be ready to chase the aggregate win through a high-scoring draw.

If Olivier Giroud delivers against Crystal Palace, he has a very strong chance of being in the same spot against Barcelona.

Antonio Conte returned Gary Cahill to the starting XI against Crystal Palace. A few months ago, Cahill would have the day off against teams like Palace to stay fresh for games like Barcelona. Now, he and Antonio Rudiger have fully swapped roles. Rudiger is not even in the squad while Cahill lines up at Stamford Bridge, assuring Rudiger’s readiness at Camp Nou.

Similarly, but less dramatically, Davide Zappacosta is in for Victor Moses. Moses has had an increasing role on Chelsea’s offence, playing more as a winger than the wing-back of last season. He will need to be in full offensive mode but still able to recover on defence in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Next: Chelsea vs. Crystal Palace becoming an unusually dramatic London derby

Antonio Conte’s squad rotation and lineup creativity continues to be a hallmark of this season. This XI and what it represents shows much of the ambition he has been accused of lacking. Chelsea are over the hump of the Manchester’s, and can now focus their attention on avenging themselves against Palace and continuing their history at Barcelona.