Conte: FA Cup win over Tottenham will not benefit Chelsea in title race

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte does not think the 4-2 FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham will be an advantage in the race for the Premier League title.

Spurs have had the edge in recent weeks as they closed the gap at the top of the table from 10 to four points, but their confidence was dealt a major blow on Saturday as they missed out on a place in the FA Cup final.

Conte does not expect the weekend’s result to influence the title race, however, as he feels there is a clear distinction between the two competitions.

“Honestly I don’t know. I think, for us, it was important this win, because you reach the final in the FA Cup, a great competition, and for us it’s great to know that a week after we finish the championship, we have to play a final in the FA Cup,” Conte said at a news conference.

“It’s a great achievement for us but if you ask me if this win over Spurs means more – I don’t think so.

“These are two different competitions and we have six games to go and it’s important to start this rush very well to try to keep this four points [lead].”

Chelsea will be looking to take another step towards the title when they take on Southampton on Tuesday and Conte predicts another tough test.

“It’s important to win for us and to look at ourselves,” he added. “This is the most important thing.

“We all know that it won’t be easy because Southampton is a really good team, with a good coach and good players. We know this.

“I have in my mind the starting 11 but Tuesday I want to check the physical condition of every player because our game [against Tottenham] was an intense game and we’re still [low on] energy. 

“But I think we train very well this season and we have a lot of energy to face the type of situation.”