Antonio Conte explains why 3-4-3 formation is a good fit for Chelsea squad

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said his unorthodox 3-4-3 formation is a "good fit" for the Blues squad as it helps to bring out the best in the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

After a stuttering start to the season, Chelsea have won their last five league matches without conceding a goal and are second on the Premier League table, a point behind Liverpool.

Conte admitted that playing a 3-4-3 formation was not his first choice at Stamford Bridge but noted that the system had improved his team both offensively and defensively.

"We started the season with another system because the idea in my mind was that I wanted to play with the 4-2-4, and then we switched with 4-3-3 and we played also in the same way like last year, 4-2-3-1," the former Juventus boss told Chelsea's official website.

"But I noticed in some circumstances we didn't have the right balance because when you concede more goals than your opponent and even more chances to score a goal, it is never a good thing.

"For this reason, we switched to the new system of 3-4-3 and I think this is a good fit for our squad because also we have the strikers adapted for this system."

Conte added that the type of players he had at his disposal at Chelsea led to him opting for a 3-4-3 formation over the 3-5-2 system he used with the Italy national team.

"I thought it would improve us offensively as well as defensively and we didn't lose our offensive situation," he said.

"In this way we have increased it because we scored many goals and created a lot of chances to score the goals and also if you maintain the clean sheet, I think this is the right way."

Reports suggested last week that Conte was planning a major overhaul of his squad over the next two transfer windows despite a strong start to the season.

The Daily Telegraph said Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had been greatly impressed with Conte and was ready to spend big to bring the players that the Italian coach wanted to Stamford Bridge.