Alonso confident in Conte’s new-look Chelsea

Antonio Conte threw out Chelsea’s old playbook on Saturday, and Marcos Alonso believes their new system is another string in the club’s bow as they bid for a return to Premier League glory.

The summer signing from Fiorentina started his first league match for the Blues in the 2-0 victory against Hull City, lining up on the left-hand side of midfield with Conte opting for a 3-4-2-1 system at the KCOM Stadium.

The Italian manager’s gamble to change things up following a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal paid immediate dividends as Willian and Diego Costa strikes delivered the Italian three points.

And Alonso insists the new-look formation will not be a one-off as Chelsea look to rebuild an assault on the Premier League summit.

“After a tough couple of weeks it was important to get a result and a clean sheet at Hull,” he said.

“The clean sheet was really important because the manager likes us to defend well, to be together and be compact. We did very well.

“We had worked hard during the week to have [the new system] ready for the weekend, and I think we showed that it is another system we can use.

“[Conte] told us we needed to keep our concentration for 90 minutes, refocus, give 100 per cent and that if we did all that the result would come.

“We played a good game; even if we didn’t score in the first half we controlled the game, and then had the quality after half-time to score.”