Chelsea: Antonio Conte targets FA Cup glory after leading Blues to Premier League glory

Conte, in his first season in England, led Chelsea to their sixth league success in the 2016/17 season.

Chelsea
Conte has led Chelsea to league glory in his first season in England Reuters

Chelsea clicnhed the 2016/17 Premier League title after a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on 12 May. The Blues manager Antonio Conte has now set his sights on winning the FA Cup in order to complete a domestic double in his debut season in England.

Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal against the Baggies to help the Blues seal their sixth league title. The three points over West Brom saw the west London club sit at the top of the table with 87 points after 36 games.

Chelsea sealed an unassailable 10-point lead over nearest title-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who have a game in hand over the leaders. With the sixth league title in their bag, the Blues will now face Arsenal in the final of FA Cup on 27 May at the Wembley Stadium.

Conte, who has now won the Premier League title in his very first season in England, attributed the success to his players' commitment and work rate. He also stressed that it was not easy to find solutions to the team's problems following a disappointing last campaign, in which Chelsea finished 10th in the league.

"When you arrive after a bad season and the team has arrived at 10th in the league it means there are a lot of problems.My players showed me great professionalism, commitment, work-rate and will to try to win this league," Conte said, as quoted by the BBC.

"To find the right solution quickly isn't easy and for this I want to thank my players because they trusted in the new work, my philosophy, video analysis to see mistakes and they showed the right attitude and behaviour."

"For me to win in my first season in England, I am really proud of the achievement," he told BBC Sport. We have two games to celebrate, then we try to make this season from great to fantastic."

Conte also revealed how the season went uphill after their 3-0 loss in September last year to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The former Italy manager switched to a 3-4-3 formation after the match, which proved a masterstroke as the Blues stitched a 13-match winning streak. The change in the formation helped them climb the league table.

Last summer signing N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic combined well to provide the team boost in the centre of the pitch. In addition to this, Victor Moses shone at his new role as right wing-back.

"It was very frustrating for me because at the end of the Arsenal game I didn't see anything from my work or my ideas on football. But in this moment I found the strength to change and take responsibility and find a system for the players," the former Juventus manager added.

"It was a key moment in the season because every single player found in this system the best for him."

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