Conte’s new Blues bring curtain down on Mourinho era at Bridge

Italian is succeeding where seven other post-Jose managers have come up short

tion of his work to this point. Those associated with Chelsea have difficulty identifying Mourinho these days as the sworn enemy of a title rival — the position any United manager should occupy at Stamford Bridge — and the lingering affection felt in certain quarters yesterday is an acknowledgment that the 53-year-old will forever be inextricably linked to the club’s rise as a major European powerhouse.

Chelsea have spent years trying to move on from Mourinho. Seven different managers, two of which were temporary, have tried and failed. The club’s hierarchy even admitted defeat by reappointing Mourinho in 2013 only for another acrimonious break-up to follow, leaving Conte with the challenge of galvanising and evolving an apparently disparate squad.

Performances like this suggest he is on track, especially when viewed in the context of the failed changes his predecessors tried to make, such as Andre Villas-Boas’s high press or Rafael Benitez’s alienation of John Terry.

United never got to grips with the 3-4-3 system which has now yielded three successive clean sheets but the Italian believes the validation the result gives his approach will be of greater significance.

“If you ask me which is the ambition, the position [we want to finish in] at the end of the tournament, for me now it is very difficult to tell about this because I think that we can improve a lot,” said Conte.

“We must continue to work and then to see. But I am pleased because I am seeing the work during the game and this is very important because when you see the work during the game, you start to think that it is the right way.

“After two defeats and to concede two or three goals in every game, it was important to change something and find a new solution. I think this is very good for our team and the squad. Now we must continue because I always thought the system is not important.

“The commitment to trust the work is more important, to work very hard and also to follow the principles of my idea of football. That pleases me because when you see this in the game, you go in your house and you are happy.”

The fact it came directly at Mourin- ho’s expense felt particularly poignant. It was obvious from the outset that several Chelsea players were especially motivated for the occasion; the usually sanguine Cesar Azpilicueta charged into challenges with atypical aggression, while Pedro produced arguably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt, exposing a United defence which, to borrow an apt phrase, exhibited “palpable discord” from the first minute.

Pedro opened the scoring inside 30 seconds after capitalising on the first example of United’s absent-mindedness before Gary Cahill doubled Chelsea’s advantage.

Mourinho was right to assert United were susceptible to Chelsea on the