Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte has claimed that his side "controlled" their game with Manchester City after he introduced Nemanja Matic in place of Kurt Zouma at half time.
The Blues had led an open match by a 2-1 scoreline at the break before Conte shuffled his pack, putting Cesar Azpilicueta into defence, Pedro to right wing-back, Matic into midfield and Cesc Fabregas closer to Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.
Zouma had been making his first league start of the season, but Conte wanted to stress that he only made changes to try to see out the remainder of the match.
The 47-year-old told reporters: "I think Kurt played a really good game but the substitution was tactical because in the first half we were suffering a lot in midfield and they were finding spaces between the lines, so I wanted to reinforce the midfield with Matic, bring Azpi into his position and play Pedro as wing-back.
"It was more offensive because your wing-back is more of a winger than a defender. In the second half we had more balance and didn't give them chances to score. We controlled the game well."
The triumph for Chelsea ensured that they maintained their seven-point lead at the top of the standings.
Darren Plant
