It's hard to believe that heading into October, Antonio Conte was deemed the favourite for the sack.

Defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal in September led to criticism but he shifted to a 3-5-2 and has been rewarded by defensive solidity in recent weeks.

A win against Leicester silenced some doubters but with Jose Mourinho returning to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United, a defeat would have spelt trouble with the small section of fans that pine for the return of the self-styled 'Special One'.

Instead, it was a rout as Pedro's early goal inside 30 seconds gave the Blues the lead before Gary Cahill doubled it before half time.

Chelsea were now outplaying Mourinho's side and looking like the team that won the league in 2015, not the one who finished 10th and were even close to the relegation zone around Christmas time.

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Eden Hazard made it 3-0 with a fine finish as Mourinho was taunted by those fans in the ground that he was no longer special.

N'Golo Kante rounded off the win with a fine finish that emphasised the gulf in class between the two teams.

Indeed, in the final moments Conte urged the fans to get behind the team more and they responded as one to raise the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho may have complained about it but many suspect it was because he was trying to deflect from the 4-0 defeat.

Conte and the Chelsea fans are now as one and momentum now seems to be with the Blues.