Antonio Conte: Chelsea win over Middlesbrough 'very important'

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte labelled his side's win over Middlesbrough as "very important" with tricky fixtures on the horizon.

The Blues went top of the Premier League thanks to Diego Costa's 41st-minute winner at the Riverside on Sunday.

But their credentials will be tested over the next fortnight as they face Tottenham and then Manchester City.

"It was very important," Conte told Sky Sports. "Today it was very important because these are tricky games. Now we have the week to prepare for a tough game against a strong team in Tottenham.

"It was a good performance against a very strong team, they drew with Arsenal and City, for this reason I am pleased with our performance.

"We played a good game, against good opposition, and created many chances to score the second goal. It's important to kill the game if you have chances because anything can happen from corners and crosses, but I am pleased."

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The win is Chelsea's sixth in a row and also their sixth successive clean sheet.

The impressive run of form comes on the back of their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, when they switched to three at the back.

"It's not easy," said Conte. "We must not forget how difficult a month ago was, but we have to continue with trust and with our fans, they were against fantastic."

Conte also praised Costa, who scored his 10th league goal of the season.

"Diego is playing good football, with and without the ball," he said. "And Pedro and Eden [Hazard], they are very important for our balance. They are working very hard for the team.

"Diego is always in the action, he is a fantastic striker and is showing this."