Antonio Conte: Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta one of the best in the world in his role

Praise | Antonio Conte (left) has hailed Cesar Azpilicueta (right)
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Vaishali Bhardwaj1 March 2017

Antonio Conte believes Cesar Azpilicueta is the best defender in the world in the current role he occupies within the Chelsea team.

Full-back Azpilicueta has been utilised by Conte on the right side of a three-man defence since the beginning of October, when the Italian coach switched from a 4-2-4 to a 3-4-3 formation.

The move has paid off with Chelsea storming to the top of the Premier League standings thanks to consistent performances from the club's offensive players but also their defensively-minded footballers too.

Indeed, Conte singled out wing-back Victor Moses and defender Azpilicueta for their importance to his team in the 3-4-3 set-up - labelling the former as "fantastic" and the latter "incredible".

"This system (3-5-2) was in my mind when we planned the season with the club," Conte said.

"We have two systems 4-2-4 and 3-4-3. When I switched this system, I felt it was a good fit for our players. We don't lose offensively but we are better defensively.

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"We found players not to adapt but to play in different roles compared to the past. Like Moses and Azpi - he's incredible in this new role. He is one of the best in the world in this role.

"Moses too. To run for the whole game with this quality is fantastic."

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