As the dreaded international break ended, the Premier League returned with a bang when the two most recent top-flight champions clashed. Chelsea welcomed Leicester to Stamford Bridge in Saturday’s early kick off as previous manager Claudio Ranieri met the Blues for the third time in his managerial career. Interestingly, Antonio Conte was the third boss Ranieri faced in that time and, if history has taught us anything, a win was on the cards for Conte.
The Leicester manager secured a 2-1 win over Chelsea last December in what proved to be Jose Mourinho’s final game at the Stamford Bridge helm, before drawing 1-1 with Guus Hiddink’s Blues boys once the Premier League title was won. This current Chelsea side, however, rushed out of the blocks as an unmarked Diego Costa fired the home side in front with just seven minutes on the clock. Costa looks a striker reborn under Conte following a sub-par second season in England, with his early goal his seventh in eight Premier League appearances this term.
Diego Costa: Has scored more goals (7) than any other Premier League player this season #CHELEI
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 15, 2016
David Luiz came close to scoring a spectacular first league goal following his return to west London as his dipping free kick struck the post, before Eden Hazard doubled the home sides’ advantage with a simple finish after rounding Kasper Schmeichel just after the half hour mark as Chelsea dominated the defending champions.
Leicester came out for the second half all guns blazing as they looked to haul themselves back into the game, but Chelsea successfully weathered the storm before wrapping up all three points with 10 minutes to play as Victor Moses capped off an excellent one-two with Nathaniel Chalobah. Not only will Conte have taken the three points so comprehensively in the first match back following the domestic hiatus, but the manner with which they overcame Leicester with a three-man defence will have buoyed Chelsea’s Italian boss.
Prior to his appointment, much was made of Conte maximising a similar system to the one used with Juventus and Italy, and after the 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, it was little shock to see the former midfielder change his side with a back four dangerously exposed in the loss at the Emirates. Having overseen a clean sheet in the 2-0 win at Hull, Conte stuck with the back three of Tim Cahill, Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta, despite John Terry’s availability.
The switch in defence has allowed for Conte to maximise wing-backs, allowing for summer arrival Marcos Alonso to stake a claim for a regular starting spot and Victor Moses the chance to forge a long-term career at Stamford Bridge. Moses has spent time on loan at Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham following his permanent signing from Wigan and was never really presented with the opportunity to prove his worth for the west London side. While ideally, he’d prefer to play in a more advanced role, Moses’ deployment as the right wing-back has proven a shrewd move by Conte, with the Nigerian’s WhoScored rating from his two Premier League starts this season a respectable 8.09.
As an attacker-turned-wing-back, one could foresee Moses shirking his defensive responsibilities, but to his credit, the 25-year-old made two tackles and two interceptions in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Leicester to help gain a WhoScored rating of 8.42; only Nemanja Matic (8.48) earned higher. Importantly, though, is how in tandem both Moses and Alonso on the opposite flank are. A defender by trade, the Spaniard offers balance on the left, allowing for Moses to press forward, safe in the knowledge Alonso can drop back into left-back and Azpilicueta can move to right-back to help maintain the club’s defensive resilience if required.
They’re aided by the ever-improving midfield partnership of Matic and N’Golo Kante, with the former awarded the WhoScored man of the match award and the latter earning a rating of 8.38, the third best in the fixture. Kante was an efficient performer in the middle of the park on Saturday having more touches (100) and attempted more passes (86) than any other Chelsea player. Matic’s future, meanwhile, was the subject of intense speculation over the summer, yet Conte’s decision to retain his services and partner him alongside Kante is beginning to benefit the team. Their energy in the middle of the park helps Chelsea in their quest to return to the summit of England’s top tier. With Chelsea’s defence far from the finished product, their respective ability to shield the backline is a huge bonus to the club.
Of course, Chelsea remain a jigsaw far from completition, while the 3-4-3 formation was tested only for the second Premier League game this season. Conte would have liked to have faced tougher opposition than Hull and a lacklustre Leicester to gauge just how effective the system is, but two wins from two and back-to-back Premier League clean sheets for the first time since the turn of the year breeds confidence. The welcome of Manchester United in a week’s time - and provided Conte sticks with the same side - will prove to be the true test of the three-man defence, but today it worked perfectly to fire Chelsea to the win.
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