Everything worked for Chelsea this Sunday who have now scored a total of 7 goals in their two last matches and even better they have not conceded a goal in that time using 3 at the back. What is even more impressive is that those games were against Leicester and United, two of the Premier League’s strongest sides. Regardless of Mourinho’s attempt to blame the loss on the fact that the defense made a mistake and handed Chelsea a 1-0 lead within the first minute of the game, everyone could see that the Blues deserved the win. Being able to score so quickly was also the result of Pedro’s relentless pressure on his adversaries and Conte’s fighting attitude. You could see the Italian boss push his players throughout the entire 90 minutes and you could also see him encourage fans to chant for their side. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that Chelsea’s manager is 100% committed to every game and that his desire to win is out of the ordinary.
One other thing worth mentioning when it comes to Conte is the fact that he managed to win the last two games by changing the system. It takes brains and guts to turn to a 3-4-3 formation after months of training with 4 defenders always covering the back line. Somehow, he managed to pull it off by playing with Cahill, Azpilicueta and Luiz right in front of Courtois, with Alonso and Moses covering the flanks. It was the perfect evening for Chelsea’s players who got everything right. Kante proved he is worth every penny and Alonso showed everyone that he was not a rushed transfer. Hazard is returning to his true form, Costa is as deadly in front of goal as he can be and Moses is a revelation.
Conte was clearly happy with this Sunday’s result as many could see during the final minutes of the game. Here’s what he had to say after the game ended:
“We made a fantastic start. We scored the early goal but we continued to play good football, intensity and possession, create many chances. Today we didn’t concede, which was important. It was a type of win that increases the confidence.
“We wanted to show our ambition and give the satisfaction to our fans and show last season was very bad.” [Quotes sourced from the BBC]
The Blues move to 4th place and are now just 1 point behind all top three teams which are tied with 20 points each. Conte has a good set of matches ahead, matches that can be used to get amped up for the Tottenham and Manchester City clashes which, right now, seem like the most important games left in 2016.