Conte over the moon with wing-back influence at Chelsea

Antonio Conte’s deployment of wing-backs has been a revelation this season for Chelsea, and the Blues boss admits he is delighted with the way his charges have adapted to his philosophy.

Since switching to a back three after the 3-0 humbling by Arsenal at the end of November, with four players in midfield, Chelsea have not conceded in the Premier League.

Clean sheets against Hull City, Leicester City, Manchester United and Southampton yielded 12 points in a dream October for Conte’s side.

Playing with David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta across the back, the door has been open on the flanks for players who have previously taken a back seat at Chelsea – with Victor Moses, new signing Marcos Alonso, Pedro, and even academy starlet Ola Aina all catching the eye.

And Conte is thrilled with the variety of talent at his disposal on the wings.

“This role is very important in this system,” he said. “You must have good stamina and quality to play as wing-backs.

Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso have impressed for Chelsea (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

“I ask my wing-backs to do offensive and defensive work. Moses is a great surprise in this aspect. We know Moses as a winger, but he’s playing in a fantastic way.

“Also Alonso, it wasn’t easy to go in to the English league and play in this way, and I’m pleased.

“In this role, Pedro also can play, in the same way as Moses. Ivanovic or Aina can play a more defensive role as wing-back.

“We created many chances, and also for four games we have kept clean sheets. It means our confidence is increasing.

“The players deserve this. I see them every day, the way they are working. It’s important to arrive at this type of result because they can trust the work more, but we know the road is long and it’s important to continue to work very hard to improve.”