Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said he brought on Willian against Manchester City because he felt the Brazilian could get behind the visitors’ defence.
Conte was forced to make a change in the first half when the in-form Alvaro Morata went off with what looked like a hamstring problem.
The Italian surprised many by opting to bring on Willian rather than Michy Batshuayi and his team played without a recognised striker until Batshuayi was brought on with 18 minutes of the match remaining.
Speaking at his post-match press conference after the 1-0 defeat, Conte explained: “It was a simple tactical decision.
“In this type of game I thought Willian with Hazard was a good decision to try to exploit the space behind the defenders.”
Morata is being assessed by Chelsea’s medical team and looks unlikely to be able to report for international duty with Spain.
However, Conte does not believe the injury is serious.
Conte said: “It’s a muscular problem. I don’t think it is a serious problem.
“He said to me: ‘I prefer to stop, otherwise I risk having a bad injury’.
“The doctor in the next few days has to check the situation. I don’t think he will be available for the national team.”