Eden Hazard says Chelsea work more on tactics with Antonio Conte than they did with Jose Mourinho.
Conte has made an immediate impact since arriving at Chelsea in the summer, with his switch to a 3-4-3 formation helping propel the side to the top of the Premier League table.
Hazard, who has nine goals and three assists in the league, says the Italian’s managerial style is very different from Manchester United’s Mourinho, who was sacked from his second spell as Blues boss in December 2015.
“In tactics and training we do more with Conte,” he told Sky Sports.
“We work a lot of tactical positions and we know exactly what we have to do on the pitch, where I have to go and where the defenders have to go.
“We know exactly what to do. With Mourinho, he put in a system but we didn’t work lots. We know what to do because we play football, but maybe the automatisms were a little bit different.
“With Mourinho, Nemanja Matic was behind me in the season when we won the title and sometimes I stayed in front and Matic did the job.
“With Conte it’s different. I close more inside because Marcos Alonso is there as a wing-back. I just need to be ready to counter-attack if we get the ball.”
Hazard is one of several beneficiaries of Conte’s hands-on coaching style this season, with the Belgian enjoying wonderful form on the left-hand side of the attacking three.
By contrast, at this point under Mourinho in the 2015/16 season he had failed to score a single league goal.
Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea in December following a 2-1 loss to Leicester, which meant the club had won just four of their opening 16 league matches in defence of their title.
Conte, meanwhile, has been instrumental in Chelsea’s form this season, which sees them nine points clear of second-placed Tottenham with 23 matches played.
The Italian’s side have lost just once since changing to a back three in October, scoring 38 goals and conceding just seven times.
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