CONTE SHUTS UP SHOP
GAME, EVERY KICK, EVERY GOAL Antonio move hailed by Cesar
CESAR Azpilicueta hailed the tactical masterstroke that had Chelsea looking at their meanest again.
Italian boss Antonio Conte was so sick of seeing his side ship goals that he switched formation.
Conte used three centre-halves when he was in charge of Italy and won a hat-trick of Serie A titles with Juventus playing that way.
And his use of a three-man defence paid off as the Blues cruised to maximum points and kept just their second clean sheet of the season.
Curling efforts from Willian and Diego Costa in the second half put Chelsea firmly in control at the KCOM Stadium.
System
But Azpilicueta, who lined up alongside Gary Cahill and David Luiz at the heart of the defence, said keeping a clean sheet was just as satisfying as the win.
The Spaniard said: “We work for this and it’s always nice not to concede goals.
“In the last month we have been conceding too many goals and this is bad for the whole team.
“The manager is always trying to find the best solution for the team for the game and this week we have been working on the system.”
Chelsea arrived at Hull on the back of defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool – teams they expect to challenge for honours this season.
Azpilicueta said: “It was important for us after the defeats in the Premier League, the bad results and the bad performance against Arsenal, to have a good game.
“We are here to win and the clean sheet will bring a bit more confidence.”
John Terry was still missing through injury while Conte dropped Branislav Ivanovic.
Conte said: “When you finish with a clean sheet, after you conceded in the last four games two or three goals, it is important because we needed to find more confidence in this aspect.
“We must work. We must continue to work because we know that to change the past, we need to work a lot. We need to work together.”
For Hull, this clash was the latest in a run of fixtures against the league’s big boys.
The Tigers have lost against Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in just over a month.
In that time, caretaker boss Mike Phelan’s future has still not been sorted.
He remains in temporary charge, despite being in control of the first team since Steve Bruce quit in July.
Phelan is desperate to sign a permanent deal and said he feels like he has been put on trial.
The 54-year-old said: “It’s a situation where things just need to be ironed out.
“I think I’ve been put on trial. I think I’ve been put in the mix where it’s a case of: Can I or can’t I do the job? I think I’ve shown that I’m capable, that the players have responded well.
“The terms will always be private but they’ve fluctuated so I want to know what’s going on, where I sit, what I can and can’t do. All those questions need answering.
“And when you think you’re there, which I did – I thought it was all sorted – it changed. I wanted to know why and I still need to know that.”
Deliver
Next up are games against Bournemouth, Stoke and Watford and midfielder Markus Henriksen said: “We have to be positive.
“It wasn’t going to be these games where we take the points but I have to admit we’re a little bit disappointed that we didn’t get anything from these four big games.
“Now the games are coming when we have to take points. That’s going to be nice to see how we deliver that.
“If we want to be a good team in the Premier League then these are the games we have to take the points in.”