Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said the extra creativity and quality that Cesc Fabregas brings was the reason the midfielder started ahead of Nemanja Matic in the 3-1 win over Swansea City.
The Spaniard was a standout performer as the Blues moved 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League table, controlling the play, scoring the opening goal and playing a precise pass which led to Pedro’s vital strike.
Fabregas, who also started in the FA Cup win against Wolves, was key to Chelsea’s win and also hit the bar.
Conte said choosing the right midfielder for the right opponents was the “right way to continue”.
“Cesc played a really good game,” Conte said. “It is important to have these solutions and also analyse and play game by game to understand when we need to have a player with more quality.
“For me I consider Nemanja a top player and [N’Golo] Kante, but also Fabregas. I am very pleased to see him in this form.”
Conte said his Fabregas-inspired team were worthy winners against the Swans.
“I am satisfied with the performance and the win,” he added. “We played well. We dominated the game and had many chances.
“We played well in the first half and it was a pity to concede a goal at the end. Maybe the time was finished but we must pay attention and improve.
“I told them at half-time we were playing well and dominating and creating chances but we are 1-1 that is the reality so for this reason push because we need to win. They did this. Hazard had a chance, Fabregas hit the bar and then we scored.
“It was very important because in this situation when the tension starts to increase it is important to see the right answer and I saw a lot of right answers from my players.”
This post was last modified on 25/02/2017