Antonio Conte: 'Chelsea did well to withstand pressure at Bournemouth'

Antonio Conte has hailed his Chelsea charges for keeping their cool and maintaining their seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with their 3-1 victory over Bournemouth.

The Blues saw their advantage reduced to four points ahead of their late kickoff at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday following Tottenham Hotspur's 4-0 win over Watford earlier in the day.

An Adam Smith own goal and Eden Hazard's 20th-minute strike set Chelsea on their way to victory, and although Joshua King's deficit-halver just before the break made things tense for the Blues, a Marcos Alonso goal in the 68th minute settled nerves and made sure of all three points.

Conte told BBC Sport after the game: "Our reaction was good, we played in the right way at a time of the season with a lot of pressure. When we conceded the goal we lost a bit of confidence but we managed the game and deserved to win.

"When you have this type of opponent (Tottenham) who is in good form and wants to catch you, it is important to have a good answer. This is a good answer. There are seven games to go and in England it is not easy, there is a lot of pressure."

Up next for Chelsea is a crunch clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford next Sunday.