Chelsea manager Antonio Conte defended his decision to allow Thibaut Courtois to take a penalty after the Belgian goalkeeper hoisted his effort over the crossbar against Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday.

Arsenal beat Chelsea 4-1 on penalties to win the Community Shield for the third time in four years after the game finished 1-1, with Courtois and new signing Alvaro Morata both fluffing their efforts in the shootout.

However, Conte backed his shot-stopper. “Courtois is one of the best players to kick penalties,” he said, in the post-match press conference. “If you have a player that shows you during the training sessions to be one of the best, you pick him to shoot the penalty. But don’t forget Morata is a forward and he did the same.”

Morata miscued his effort in the shootout, dragging his spot-kick wide of the left-hand post to complete an inauspicious cameo appearance. His miss allowed Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud to net the winning penalty.

“Morata needs to work, but it’s normal – he stays with us for only one week,” said Conte. “It’s very important to find a good physical condition, to understand our idea of football. He needs a bit of time, but it’s normal.”

Conte cut a frustrated figure after the match and said he was “a bit angry” with referee Bobby Madley. After Victor Moses put Chelsea ahead minutes after the break, Madley booked Willian for diving and showed Pedro a straight red card for an ugly foul on Mohamed Elneny shortly before Sead Kolasinac’s equaliser.

Conte was unhappy with Madley after seeing his side reduced to 10 men against Arsenal at Wembley yet again. Moses was sent off for diving in the Blues’ FA Cup final loss to the Gunners in May.

“This is the second game, after the FA Cup, that we finish with 10 men,” Conte fumed. “I didn’t see the situation. For me for this reason it is very difficult for me to say something about this decision.”

He added, “I heard there was clearly a penalty but I did not see. We are working, we are trying to do our best. We had a tough pre-season, between the six days until we start the league it is important to be focused on the next game.”

With inputs from AFP