Chelsea extended their winning streak to six games with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Middlesbrough to take the top spot in the Premier League for the first time since they lifted the title 18 months ago.
On a weekend when the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal dropped points, Chelsea took the initiative and managed to grind out a victory against a spirited Middlesbrough side to go top of the Premier League for the first time since winning the title in 2014-15. The win meant Antonio Conte’s men had won six games on the bounce since adopting the tactical shift to 3-4-3 formation.
It was in-form striker Diego Costa who was on the money once again for the Blues and it was effectively a moment of awareness from the Spaniard along with a strong defensive performance throughout once again that helped secure the victory in the end for Chelsea. The Hard Tackle looks at some key talking points from yet another good performance from Conte’s side as they continue to establish their credentials for the Premier League title.
‘Poacher extraordinaire’ Costa
Conte has gone through a fair bit of experimenting with this Chelsea side since arriving in the summer and has finally figured out his best formation in the form of the 3-4-3 – a tactical shift that has seen them conjure up 6 wins in a row, scoring 18 goals and conceding none. However, none of that has affected Costa who has contributed regardless of the tactical alterations and shortcomings of his side. The Spaniard scored the winner in each of Chelsea’s first three games of the season and is now spearheading a rampant charge towards league glory once again for the Blues.
Part of what makes a striker world class is his ability to ‘poach’ something out of nothing and come up trumps in games when the chances and goals are hard to come by. And that is the tenacity and perseverance that eventually enabled Costa to get ahead of four Middlesbrough defenders to slot a loose ball into the back of Victor Valdez’s net. The top scorer in the Premier League has been consistently banging in the goals for Chelsea this season and if this continues throughout the rest of the campaign, league glory could beckon the Stamford Bridge faithful once again.
The Revival of Moses
Moses has had a remarkable growth to prominence under Conte at Chelsea and is enjoying his best spell of form since making the move to Stamford Bridge almost 4 years ago. After three unsuccessful and underwhelming loan spells away at Liverpool, West Ham and Stoke City, the Nigerian was seemingly out of favour when he returned to Chelsea last summer. However, Conte has managed to identify the winger’s physicality and strengths to field him in a wing-back role.
Part of the freedom that he is afforded in right wing-back can be attributed to a stable midfield in the presence of Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante. This has given the 25-year-old much more freedom in attack and with Boro lying deep to defend, it provided him more incentive and space to go forward. As a winger fitting into a more defensive minded role, Moses isn’t yet the finished product as far as a wing-back is concerned but given how well he has warmed up to the role in recent weeks, it’s only a matter of time before he makes that spot his own.
Brick wall defence
The Blues concluded their business in the transfer market in a rather haphazard manner during the summer when they left it till late on deadline day to secure the services of David Luiz in what appeared to be a panic buy. For a side that were linked with an array of world-class defenders throughout the window, the signing of the flamboyant Brazilian indicated that Conte may have probably missed the plot.
And it seemed to reflect on his side’s progress in the subsequent games as well as they were defensively exposed by attack minded teams like Liverpool and Arsenal. However, Chelsea have come a long way from being that troubled unit at the back to setting up arguably the best defence in the league at the moment in such a short span of time. A Luiz-Cahill pairing may be a disaster waiting to happen but with the 3-4-3, Conte has well and truly masked their shortcomings.
Chelsea can dream once again
It was a tumultuous 2015-16 campaign for the Blues as they posted the worst Premier League title defence in it’s 24 year history to finish a lowly 10th position in the league. It was a capitulation that cost Jose Mourinho his job at the Bridge for a second time as Guus Hiddink took charge as the interim boss once again after his time with the Blues during the 2009-10 campaign.
But with the arrival of Conte, Chelsea once again look like a team with identity, tactical flexibility and a fear-factor. The team are working as a unit and exploiting each other’s strengths for the larger benefit of the club’s progress and the presence of the charismatic Italian has only lifted the spirits inside the dressing room after all the controversies of last season.
The boss’s passion has infectiously passed on to the players now, who once again play with their hearts on their sleeve and with a drive to succeed. All of a sudden, last season appears to be a distant memory and with the performances they are putting up this time around, Antonio Conte’s Chelsea can most certainly begin to dream again.
