Chelsea Took ‘Big Step’ To EPL Title, Bring On West Brom — Conte boasts

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was pleased to see his side show commitment to winning the English Premier League title after a 3-0 trouncing of Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

Goals from Diego Costa, Marcos Alonso and Nemanja Matic sealed a comfortable win for the Blues who could become EPL champions for a fifth time in their history on Friday if they beat West Brom on Friday at the Hawthorns.

“We must be pleased. It was a great performance, my players showed commitment, work-rate for three important points. At this stage it was important to win and exploit Tottenham’s defeat,” Conte said during his post-match interview.

“Now, another step to the title. We have to rest well and prepare for West Brom.

“This is my first season in England in a tough championship. I’m delighted for my players, they deserve this. We are showing that we deserve to win the league.

“We must try in the next game to become champions. West Brom will want to play a good game against us, but we are ready.”

Conte also had praise for Middlesbrough and their fans.

He said: “Only in England you can see this support. I’ve not seen it before. It’s great to see a team fight with all of their strength. They went down and the supporters stayed there. This must be an example for other countries.

“For this reason, I felt in my heart I should go and clap the Boro support.”