Antonio Conte has insisted he has complete trust in his players not to squander their lead at the top of the Premier League after Chelsea re-established their 10-point advantage at the top with an impressive win at West Ham United.
The visitors had to be resilient to repel the home side’s frantic early pressure, with a barrage of crosses aimed at Andy Carroll, before striking on the counterattack to take control of the contest. Manchester City can trim Chelsea’s lead to eight points by beating Stoke City on Wednesday, but Conte’s side have shed only 15 points all season and they maintained their relentless progress towards a second title in three seasons.
“I must have confidence in my players,” said the Chelsea manager. “Until now, we have deserved to stay on top of the table. For sure, it won’t be easy to stay there because Tottenham and City, also Liverpool, are there.
“To see Arsenal drop three points and Manchester United drop two points [this weekend] was very important because the games are starting to be fewer, but this league will still be really tough until the end.
“I listen to the other coaches of the other teams, and they trust [themselves] to win. And it’s right to have this ambition.
“It’s important for us to know the others have this ambition so that we keep our own anger and will to fight and stay on top of the league. I trust my players to do this because they are showing me great commitment not only in games, but during the week: in every training session, great will to work and improve, to improve our work. I trust them. Absolutely.”
Those sentiments were echoed by the West Ham manager, Slaven Bilic, whose team’s consolation goal from Manuel Lanzini was scored deep into stoppage time. “There are enough points available if they slip, and every game will be difficult for them,” he said. “It will not be an easy ride, but they are not going to become casual. That’s 100%. They look very, very serious. I think I can see them staying on top with the quality they have, but also with how solid they are and how concentrated they are. They look in good shape.
“There are many good teams in the Premier League with attacking football, flair and individual class. But from all these teams, Chelsea look the most solid. They always defend with numbers. They always defend with five and two holding midfielders, minimum. So seven players. And, because they are really fit, they make that offensive transition their main offensive weapon. They’re 10 points clear at the top. This is why.”
Conte was impressed with his players’ response to seeing City and Spurs claim victories on Sunday, with his only gripe a slight criticism of a lack of ruthlessness in the final third. Chelsea created enough opportunities after the interval to run out more comfortable winners. “We must be more clinical to finish the game because, when you are 1-0 or 2-0 up, in England anything can happen,” he said.
“You can see that, had West Ham scored after 85 minutes rather than 92, we’d have been in trouble. For this reason, we have to be more clinical when we create chances and score, score, score.
“But I’m pleased for my players. Today was not easy, to play after your opponents and know they have won, so if you drop points you give hope to your opponents in the chase. But we played under good pressure today, and our answer was very good. I’m very pleased for my players. We controlled the game and conceded not a lot. Our central defenders played very well against these long balls for Carroll. I’m pleased with the commitment and the focus.”
