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LONDON (Reuters) – Back-to-back Premier League defeats by Liverpool and Arsenal in September forced Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to adopt the tactics that have sent his team on an 11-match winning run in the top flight.

Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday to stretch its lead at the top of the table to seven points and equaled a club record for consecutive Premier League wins.

Conte’s men were beaten 2-1 at home by Liverpool in September before losing 3-0 at Arsenal, and the manager said the defeats by title rivals had prompted him to change his formation and sparked his players into life.

“Usually when I don’t win it’s very difficult to sleep, but now I’m sleeping the right amount,” Conte told British media. “After 11 wins, we have a positive pressure that we want to continue.

“I like to win, and to see my teams have two bad defeats - we deserved two bad defeats -- I didn’t like this and I tried to find the right solution on the pitch, outside of the pitch.

“We found the right solution with the players, to explain that we all deserve better than last season.”

The Italian also said he was initially concerned about whether his players would be able to adapt to the new formation and if he was changing too much too soon.

“In the history of Chelsea, this never happened, no? To change it totally, this situation, is not easy – you must go slowly, slowly, and to put the idea across,” he added.

The league leader hosts Bournemouth on December 26 and Stoke City on December 31, before visiting Tottenham Hotspur on January 4.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur still have a chance of overhauling Chelsea and winning the title, according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Tottenham, which trails Chelsea by 10 points, beat Burnley 2-1 at home on Sunday to stay fifth in the table, a point behind north London rival Arsenal.

“Our position is good,” said Pochettino. “It’s true that we have a 10-point gap with Chelsea. But in football, anything can happen. There are a lot of games to play.

Tottenham pushed hard for the title last season before fizzling out in the home stretch to finish third behind winner Leicester City and Arsenal.

Spurs crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage earlier this season to drop into the Europa League, with Pochettino suggesting his team had labored under the weight of increased expectations.

“Our expectation was too high. We were playing Champions League, and we are out,” the Argentine added.

Spurs travel to Southampton for their next domestic fixture on December 28.