TRIPLE DELIGHT FOR BLUES BOSS

THREE was the magic number for Chelsea boss Antonio Conte as his new-look side ran the champions ragged.

The Italian had switched to three at the back for the trip to Hull before the international break and his favoured system served him so well on Humberside that he stuck with it here.

Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill were the chosen ones at the back, with fit-again club captain John Terry on the bench.

And the trio formed the bedrock of a superb display, arguably Chelsea’s best of the season, as Leicester were made to look very ordinary.

Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Victor Moses scored the three goals.

And to cap a positive day the Blues had three homegrown players on the pitch — subst i tutes Nathaniel Chalobah, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and debutant Ola Aina — when referee Andre Marriner blew the final whistle.

It was in the first half that the damage was really done, though, with Conte’s men looking so comfortable in their new system.

Marcos Alonso and Eden Hazard were superb down the left, with the Spaniard stretching Leicester ’s defence on the overlap and creating gaps on the inside for the Belgian to exploit.

Hazard was involved in a fine early move from which Moses forced a good save by Kasper Schmeichel.

From the resulting corner, however, Nemanja Matic’s delicate flick with the inside of a boot fell perfectly for Costa, who drilled the ball into the ground and over the diving keeper.

It was a great start for Chelsea and for the next 30-odd minutes they played seriously good football.

N’Golo Kante, signed from Leicester in the summer, was booed for his every touch by the visiting fans, but, boy, do they miss him.

He hasn’ t l o o ked anywhere near as sharp this season as he did last time, as the driving force to the Foxes’ title tilt, but, against his old pals, he really ramped it up. Kante and Matic ran