Marcos Alonso could easily have gotten two yellow cards in two minutes as he momentarily lost concentration against Stoke City.

The 26-year-old was taken off early in the second-half as he was lucky to have escaped a red card.

However, Antonio Conte has revealed his decision to take Alonso off was more of a tactical change due to the introduction of Peter Crouch.

He told the media after the game: “No, honestly it was a tactical substitution as they brought on Crouch. As you know, last season we suffered with him and I wanted to reinforce our defensive line with Cahill and to move Azpi as wing-back.

“It was only a tactical substitution. Also I think he never risked to take the second yellow card. I don’t want to underline another incident, but I think that the person who risked a lot was Crouch with a bad tackle. Alonso never risked the second yellow card.”