Chelsea striker Diego Costa scored a late victor after avoiding a second yellow card for a lunge on West Ham goalkeeper Adrian.
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West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic says that he is “not frustrated” by the referee’s decision not to send off Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
Chelsea won the Premier League in 2015 but slumped to a 10th place finish last season, with coach Jose Mourinho replaced by Guus Hiddink in December following an astonishing decline.
As the former Italy and Juventus manager watched the game from the sidelines, barking instructions and waving his arms, the home crowd sensed a renewed confidence among numerous players who performed so poorly a few months ago.
“What I want us to do is to work hard all year round, because you don’t just win things because you’re Real Madrid”.
“It is important to bring something of different compared with last season”.
Conte celebrated wildly with the Chelsea supporters on the touchline and was full of praise for his players’ performance in his first game at the helm.
But Chelsea were awarded a penalty within a minute of the start of the second half as Michail Antonio bundled into the back of Cesar Azpilicueta.
With Antonio Conte favouring N’Golo Kante in front of the defence and a four-man midfield of Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic, Oscar and Willian ahead of him, Fabregas was left on the bench.
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But it looked like they would be punished for not turning their possession into goals when West Ham defender James Collins hooked in a shot in the 78th minute after the home side failed to clear a corner. He has great ability and is very important in this team. “I remember that because confidence was low and the players didn’t trust themselves”, he told Chelsea’s official magazine.
