Cesar Azpilicueta: I never had any doubts Antonio Conte's switch to 3-4-3 would work for Chelsea

Challenge | Cesar Azpilicueta says he enjoys the 3-4-3 system
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Vaishali Bhardwaj9 September 2017

Cesar Azpilicueta was always confident the switch to a 3-4-3 formation would pay off for Chelsea.

Blues boss Antonio Conte first implemented the change for Chelsea's trip to Hull last October after the west Londoners had suffered back-to-back league defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal.

The 3-4-3 set-up immediately worked as Chelsea beat Hull 2-0 away before storming to the Premier League trophy with a record-breaking 30 wins.

The champions have retained the 3-4-3 formation this season and Azpilicueta, who has had to move from left-back to the right side of a three-man defence in the new set-up, says he knew it would work.

"I’m enjoying it a lot," the Spaniard told Chelsea's official website. "For me, it was a new position, a new challenge.

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"I had no doubts about it from the very first moment the coach told me he wanted me to play there.

"I thought I was capable of doing it and I’m always trying to improve and take in advice to keep on developing as a player.

"It’s important to have that flexibility and be ready for it, because the coach can choose between different systems depending on our opponents. So it’s important to have confidence in order to be able to swap systems."

He added: "In a three-man defence you get more in touch with the ball and you participate more when distributing it. The way you attack is different too, because when you play as a full-back you do so in wide areas. You can cross the ball from closer to the box."