Chelsea Boss Antonio Conte Hits Back at 'Negative Press' Following Blues' 4-0 Thrashing of Brighton

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has hit back at the press after his side ended their dismal run of form in emphatic fashion - thrashing Brighton & Hove Albion 4-0 in the Premier League. The Blues took an early lead through Eden Hazard, before Willian doubled his side's advantage minutes later. Late efforts from Hazard and Victor Moses sealed a competent win for the Blues.

Speaking after the important win, via Chelsea's official website, Conte praised his side for their impressive attacking play, before hitting back at the media over their claims of a crisis at Stamford Bridge. The former Juventus manager said:

"A good game and a good result for us. In the last period we didn’t score a lot, and instead today we scored four goals and created other chances to improve the final result.

"We kept another clean sheet which is very important for us, despite Brighton creating chances to score. Before the game, a lot of people had a lot of worry about our suspensions and injuries. Instead during the game, we showed great personality to be a team. We started the game very well, we scored twice quickly with good combinations between our strikers."

"We must be happy for this. At the same time, from tomorrow, every single player who scored today has to forget about that, and try to score again against Arsenal. This is the most important thing: to be happy for today’s performance, but from tomorrow to start to think about another important game."

Turning his attention to the negative press surrounding his side after their hat-trick of 0-0 draws, Conte respond defiantly, claiming:

"Whoever said that (Chelsea are struggling) has to pay great attention to the stats. We are unbeaten in 12 games. A lot of the time the press tries to see the negative aspect, and not the positive aspect. This team, with many problems, are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions. This means we are doing important work."

Chelsea will head into their next match against Arsenal, where the Blues face a tough task in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. The two sides drew 0-0 in the first meeting at Stamford Bridge, meaning that Conte's side need to a big performance at the Emirates Stadium to progress to the final at Wembley.