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Chelsea analysis: Eden Hazard and Willian lead from the front as Tiemoue Bakayoko repays Antonio Conte's faith

AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

Willian stole the show for Chelsea on Tuesday as the Brazilian's goal and two assists inspired the Premier League champions to a 3-0 win away to Huddersfield Town.

Antonio Conte made a handful of changes to his starting line-up for the trip to Huddersfield following the 1-0 loss at West Ham, which saw the champions put in a lacklustre performance in the London derby clash.

Chelsea's top scorer Alvaro Morata was one of the many players to struggle at the London Stadium, but didn't get the chance to put his disappointing showing behind him after he was ruled out with a back injury.

Despite the return to fitness of Michy Batshuayi from a foot injury, Conte still opted to start Eden Hazard up front as the Italian switched to a 3-4-3 formation.

And it paid off with Hazard's work off the ball leading to Chelsea's opener in the 23rd minute. The Belgian's pressing of Jonas Lossl led to the goalkeeper slipping and inadvertently sending the ball to Victor Moses.

The wing-back then combined with Hazard, who flicked the ball to Willian, whose subsequent pass was latched onto by Tiemoue Bakayoko. The midfielder superbly clipped the ball over Lossl to net his third goal in all competitions this season and hand Chelsea the lead.

(REUTERS)
(REUTERS)

The strike was certainly important for the visitors, but it would have also been crucial to Bakayoko's confidence following a tough few weeks for the midfielder.

The Frenchman, who arrived from Monaco for £40million in the summer, has been under pressure since unwittingly playing a role in Mohamed Salah's goal for Liverpool in late November.

Following the 1-1 draw at Anfield, Conte decided to leave the midfielder on the bench for Chelsea's next league game - a 1-0 win over Swansea - before he played the final 13 minutes as the Blues beat Newcastle 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.

He was then taken off at half-time against West Ham on Saturday - though Conte insisted afterwards the substitution was a tactical one.

The Chelsea coach has insisted on several occasions this season that Bakayoko can improve as a player but, by playing him against Huddersfield, it was a show of faith from Conte - which Bakayoko re-paid him for.

(AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)

Indeed, following his goal, the 23-year-old could have bagged a brace but headed Willian's free-kick wide in the 39th minute. Interestingly, it was then the Brazilian - who has had some question marks about his place in the Chelsea side this season - who made it 2-0 to Chelsea not long after.

Cesar Azpilicueta started the move for the visitors' second when his long ball found Marcos Alonso on the left. The wing-back crossed the ball into the box for Willian, who found the space he needed to head it past Lossl.

(AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)

The 29-year-old has been used mostly as a substitute this season, with game time often coming when Conte uses a 3-4-3 formation instead of a 3-5-2 set-up.

But, similar to his scintillating and game-changing showing against Qarabag in the Champions League, the winger demonstrated on Tuesday what he still has to offer Conte after setting up Pedro for Chelsea's third in the 50th minute.

Following a cross in from Alonso, Willian kept the ball alive and poked it into the path of Pedro, who finished from 16 yards out. The Spaniard could have had another but fired wide from Hazard's backheel pass.

(AFP/Getty Images)
(AFP/Getty Images)

This was a starkly different performance from the one Chelsea put in against West Ham and, with the visitors in control, Hazard - who impressed in place of Morata - was brought off to applause from both sets of fans in the 69th minute.

Huddersfield reacted to being 3-0 down by seeing Tom Ince force Thibaut Courtois into a block before Mathias Jorgensen sent a long-range effort over the bar.

And the only negative for Conte and Chelsea came in added time when substitute Depoitre headed a cross past Courtois to end the game 3-1.

Still, the Chelsea boss will be happy with the manner of his side's collective performance on a wet and windy night in Huddersfield and certainly the showing of some of his players – such as Bakayoko and Willian - who have been faced with criticism of their form this season