Switch to back three returns Chelsea to winning ways
Published:
Chelsea ended a run of three league games without victory with a 2-0 win over Hull, thanks to Antonio Conte switching to his favoured three-at-the-back system.
The Blues, who fielded David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta across the backline, moved into sixth place with the victory thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Willian.
It was also only the second clean sheet of Chelsea’s short season, with Hull limited to just eight shots on goal at their home ground.
The change of formation, which saw Branislav Ivanovic drop to the bench and introduced Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso as wing backs, pleased Conte:
“We played with the right intensity and pressure,” said Conte. “For me, we played a good game and also kept the clean sheet for the second time.”
This wasn’t an outstanding Chelsea victory by any means, and it was Thibaut Courtois that was pressed into action more readily in the first half of action.
However, as Chelsea grew in confidence in their new system, Hull faded. In the end, a comfortable triumph was achieved.
With that result, the Stamford Bridge side moved to within one point of fourth-place Everton and are just one win shy of Liverpool in second.
The Londoners have a tough couple of fixtures on the cards, with a home game against defending champions Leicester followed by the visit of former manager Jose Mourinho and his new Manchester United outfit.
We go 3/5 that the Blues tame the Foxes after the international break, and 15/8 that their new-found defensive stability produces a win to nil.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
