Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has played down the suggestion that his side are now favourites to win the Premier League title this season.
Diego Costa's 10th goal of the campaign was enough to fire his side to the top of the table courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon.
Chelsea have now won six matches in a row without conceding a goal, but Conte was keen to point out that his side were being written off not so long ago after back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal.
"Now it's very difficult to reply to this because if you see the recent past only one and a half months ago and see that Chelsea had two defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal. After these two games, Chelsea wasn't a favourite or a team that could fight for the title until the end. Now it's very difficult to change completely that opinion," he told reporters.
"I think we are working very well, but if you ask me what is our target now, I repeat it is very difficult to tell you this. I want to wait until the end of the first part of the championship. I am pleased because in this league, it is very difficult to have this success and to win these six games in a row is fantastic.
"When you arrive at a new club after a bad season like last year, you don't know what the response of the players will be because you lose a bit of confidence in your capacity. I am pleased because I know and also the players and our fans know Chelsea must fight until the end for something. But if you ask me if I was sure about this at the start of the season, it's very difficult."
Chelsea's current run is just the 10th time in Premier League history that a team has won six games in a row without conceding, with the West Londoners being responsible for half of those.
Barney Corkhill
