Chelsea boss makes history by winning award

Antonio Conte has become the first person to win the Premier League manager of the month award three times in a row.

The Chelsea boss beat off competition from Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp to win December’s award, having also won for October and November.

The Blues had a perfect record last month, beating Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Stoke, scoring 13 goals and conceding three.

It extended their winning run to a club-record 13 matches, which ended with last week’s defeat at Tottenham.

Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, Conte said: “I’m very proud.

“It’s a great honour for me but I want to say thanks to all of my players, my staff and the club because we won the award together. Now it’s important to continue to work very well together.

“I enjoyed my first Christmas period a lot. This type of atmosphere only happens in England and it was fantastic. I hope to experience it again many times in the future.”