Antonio Conte has hailed his team’s character as Chelsea overcame Stoke City 4-2 in a gutsy display at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Consecutive win number 13 was on the agenda for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea as they played hosts to Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening. And in what was a fighting display by the Blues, they equalled the record for the most consecutive wins in a single season as they beat the Potters 4-2.
The hosts opened the scoring midway through the first half as Chelsea captain Gary Cahill nodded in from a Cesc Fabregas corner to send his team into the break with the all-important lead in the bag.
However, Bruno Martins Indi equalised with just a minute on the clock in the second half to make it 1-1. Willian then reestablished Chelsea’s lead 10 minutes later, with a thumping strike that sent the ball into the roof of the net.
Peter Crouch, however, scored his first Premier League goal in over a year to peg Chelsea back yet again, before Willian completed his brace just a minute later to put Chelsea into the lead for a third time.
And finally, it was the in-form striker and Premier League’s top scorer this season Diego Costa who rounded off the fighting win with just five minutes left to play in regulation time to put Arsenal’s all-time Premier League record within sight.
Antonio Conte was pleased with his side’s desire to fight to extend their winning streak. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Conte said, “My players showed me a great will to fight to win, I’m pleased for them. I’m their coach but they deserve it. My players were fantastic to take the lead again.
“They showed great character because it’s not easy when you take the lead and concede, and do it again. We deserved to win the game. It’s not easy because after so many wins you face teams who want to beat you for many reasons and we must know this. When you have these type of players you can go to sleep happy.”
Saturday’s win saw Chelsea maintain their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, as Liverpool beat Manchester City 1-0 to maintain the pace with the Blues. On their visit to White Hart Lane in three days’ time, Chelsea will look to create history with a 14th win on the bounce.
