ANTONIO CONTE has given Chelsea their place back among the best after a marathon trip to Azerbaijan.
Victory means the Premier League champions are now through to the knockout stages of the Champions League with a game to spare in Group C.
There is still top spot up for grabs in the final night of games next month but today is largely about toasting the fact that manager Conte just keeps on delivering at the most demanding club in England. Two soft penalties did help them on their way, with the returning Willian at the centre of both. Even he was surprised to get the second one from a slight shirt pull with 17 minutes left. Two classy goals of his own as well meant Willian had a hand in all four on the night. But there is no doubt that despite constant rumours of unrest and speculation that he wants to go home at the end of the season, Conte is focused on the job at hand.
However fractious his relationship with the board or with owner Roman Abramovich may be, the Italian overcomes every obstacle and works his magic where it matters most. There is no argument on that front. Last season there was no European football whatsoever and Conte took a weary and under-achieving rabble of a squad and turned them into the champions of England. Now he has got them through to the last 16 where Chelsea will rub shoulders once again with the goliaths of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Man City, PSG and Bayern Munich. Plus buoyant Tottenham of course. By then they will have recovered from the jet-lag of this 5,000 mile slog to the borders of Asia and back which will drain the minds as much as the legs of the players.
For today is also about Chelsea trying to rest and recuperate in time for a less geographically but more tactically testing trip to Liverpool for a Saturday tea-time Premier League game in barely 60 hours’ time. Then we will know whether Conte’s plan to keep his squad on English time which is four hours behind Baku has done the trick. A reshuffle of the team was also a key element of Conte’s ploy to secure the important win here and keep his squad as fresh as possible for the weekend. David Luiz was recalled to the starting line up after being dropped for the previous two games for questioning the boss and for daring to have a dip in form. However, there is arguably only one thing worse than being axed for Premier League matches against Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion. That is to be IN the team against the first team ever from far-flung Azerbaijan to make it into the Champions League group stages.
From The Sun
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