Antonio blasts 'little man' Mourinho

London: Chelsea manager Antonio Conte continued his ongoing feud with Jose Mourinho by calling the Manchester United manager "a little man".

Mourinho made a pointed comment about match-fixing during the week, a reference to the four-month suspension Conte was handed in the 2012-13 season for failing to report match-fixing at his previous club Siena. He was later cleared by an Italian court of any wrongdoing.

"I think when you try to hurt a person, especially if you know very well the truth of what happens... The court proved my innocence, so when you still do this, it means you are a little man," Conte said after Chelsea's goalless FA Cup third-round draw at Championship side Norwich City.

"But this is the not the first time. He does this in the past and he continues to do this in the present."

Mourinho and Conte have never been friends, but their relationship deteriorated this week after Mourinho spoke about some managers behaving "like a clown" on the touchline, which was taken as a reference to Conte and Liverpool's Juergen Klopp.

In response on Friday, the Chelsea manager accused the Portuguese of "senile dementia", which led to Mourinho saying he had not mentioned any names.

"This is his way. It is no surprise. We all know him," Conte said ."Life will go on and I'm not worried about him."

Conte refused to criticise his players after making nine changes for the match against Norwich. "It's a bit frustrating. We knew the difficulty of the game. When you play away in this competition, it's not easy," he said.

"In the first half, we had difficulty to attack. But in the second half, we created chances to score.

"Norwich deserve to have another game. For us, it's not simple to add another game in the schedule. These are the rules, though."

Chelsea, meanwhile, are ready to add another Hazard to their ranks by re-signing Eden's brother, Thorgan, reported a British tabloid.

The forward signed for the Blues in 2012, but left to join Borussia Monchengladbach on a permanent deal in 2015. But his stunning form in the Bundesliga has reignited Chelsea's interest.

The 24-year-old has scored six goals and assisted thrice this season, equalling his same goal-scoring tally as the whole of last campaign.

Gladbach are unlikely to want to cash in on their star asset, but the lure of joining his brothers at the Premier League champions may prove too much for Thorgan. Chelsea also have Kylian Hazard on their books, the youngest of the three brothers.

Thorgan, who has seven caps for Belgium, failed to make a first team appearance for Chelsea during his three years at the club. Reuters