Heard in a podcast today that Stellini has since admitted the poor performances in the first half under Conte were indeed tactical. They were trying to conserve energy so they had more than their opponents in the second half.
I remember at the time saying/thinking/complaining (loudly) that it was too much of a pattern to be coincidence. I always thought it must be a combination of energy saving and rope-a-dope. But nobody ever admitted to it at the time.
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