Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said that Sunday's 2-0 win over Hull City has taken some of the pressure off his side going into upcoming matches against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Antonio Conte's side moved eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table with victory at Stamford Bridge, while Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all dropped points.
Chelsea face Liverpool and Arsenal in their next two league outings, and Courtois is hopeful of extending their lead even further with victories over two of their closest rivals.
"We knew it would be hard, they've changed their manager and it's harder for other teams to beat them as well," he told the club's official website.
"Manchester United found it tough against them, they won against Bournemouth and they came with a plan so it wasn't easy. I don't think we played our best game but we are pleased to get the three points.
"We wanted to win more games after the Tottenham result, and before we play Liverpool and Arsenal. Now we have a big gap, hopefully we can win against them and put ourselves further away."
Chelsea have now won 15 of their last 16 league games.
Barney Corkhill
