Antonio Conte admits that he took a risk when he changed the system at Chelsea following the Blues' defeat to Arsenal towards the end of September and started playing with a three-man defence.
Conte won three league titles at Juventus deploying a three-man defence and contrary to expectations, the Italian started the season with a traditional back four with John Terry being one of the regulars.
Then came a chastening 3-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates towards the end of September and Conte admits that he had a decision to make as he felt his team were not playing football according to his philosophy.
Conte deployed a back three for the first time in the following game at Hull, which Chelsea won 2-0 and they never looked back as they marched on to winning their sixth top division title.
The Italian admits that it was a risk to play the back three as the Chelsea players were not used to the system, but is happy to see his team getting rewarded for taking that chance.
relatedNewsStory
Conte told Sky Italia: “After the defeat against Arsenal I was thinking of finding the right solution to lend balance to the team.
“During the game I didn’t see anything that is my idea of football.
"I was both good and lucky to identify the right moment to understand it and changed the system without thinking that Chelsea have never played with a three-man defence.
“We had to take risks but we were rewarded.”
Conte will be looking to finish the season by winning a double when Chelsea play Arsenal in the FA Cup final on 27th May at Wembley.
