Antonio Conte has praised Cesc Fabregas in his press conference ahead of the Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid tonight.
The midfielder had been speaking about his process of winning the Italian over the course of the last 12 months. This time last season the Spaniard had only started a handful of games, and was stuck behind Nemanja Matic in the pecking order.
Conte: “Cesc has great ambition. He is a winner in his mind and his mentality. For this reason, he is very strong.”
— Chels HQ (@Chels_HQ) December 4, 2017
As the title winning run went on however he proved himself invaluable as a creative influence against teams who sat deep against us.
Now he’s a definite first choice player, and has the manager’s trust entirely. This new formation is as much about getting the best out of him as it is getting the best out of Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata.
From the way Conte talks about Fabregas, you can tell it wasn’t just his technical ability that convinced the manager to bring him back in, it was his experience and personality too.
