Antonio Conte hails Chelsea's 'solidity' against Bournemouth but says: 'We must be more clinical'

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Vaishali Bhardwaj28 October 2017

Antonio Conte believes Chelsea are slowly but surely improving defensively, although he believes his side should have been more clinical in front of goal against Bournemouth.

Eden Hazard's second-half strike ensured Chelsea secured a narrow 1-0 win over Eddie Howe's men at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Blues could have led earlier in the match but saw Alvaro Morata fire wide before Cesc Fabregas failed to finish a chance created by Hazard late on.

Nonetheless, Chelsea held on to not only seal a 1-0 victory but keep a clean sheet for the first time in seven games.

Conte afterward admitted that not letting in a goal was a pleasing aspect of the game for him, but said that his side's lack of goals against relegation-threatened Bournemouth was still a negative aspect.

Speaking to BT Sport, Conte said: "I think we deserved to win because we played good football. When you have a lot of chances to score, I think you must do it.

"To keep the result to only 1-0 can be dangerous. I think today that if I have to find a negative aspect, we could be more clinical.

"We must be pleased for the clean sheet. It's OK when you don't concede a goal, it means you are finding solidity which is very important for a team like Chelsea. We played a good game with a good balance and finally I think we deserved to win."

When then asked about Hazard's match-winning performance, Conte added: "Eden needs to be involved in our football because this type of player wants to play, but it is important to try different situations.

"I think he played a good game and the team are playing very well together. Now it's important to rest and prepare for the game with Roma in the Champions League."

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