Chelsea FC manager Antonio Conte, has praised the mentality of his players, after they recorded their 11th consecutive league victory with Saturday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

Fighting for every ball

There were some sceptics when Conte initially arrived at Stamford Bridge, but the Italian seems to have completely turned the side around especially from their tenth-placed finish the previous season.

The Blues now sit comfortably at the top of the pile, with Diego Costa's goal at Selhurst Park equaling their own club record of 11 consecutive league wins and Conte praised his players efforts.

"Now I see a strong mentality in my players," Conte told chelseafc.com. "To play this physical game against Crystal Palace and to have the right behaviours, to understand the way to fight to win."

"To fight in the same way like Crystal Palace is not simple," he stated. "The best thing you can see is these players with great talent and great commitment are putting their talent in the team."

"This is fantastic for me and also for the fans," the Italian added. "To see this commitment this will to fight for every ball."

Finding the right solution

Conte's abilities were brought into question back in September with defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool, but Conte insisted that it was those defeats that turned the club around for the better.

"After the defeats we changed something in me, in my players, in the club as well," he explained. "We understood the way to go and have a different season compared to last season."

‘We found the right solution with the formation," the coach stated. "But also improved the quality of our work in all aspects – the tactical aspect, the physical aspect."

"I am pleased for this because after these two bad games we changed a lot," the Italian admitted. "I like to win and to see my team have two bad defeats, and ones we deserved, I didn’t like this."

"I tried to find the right solution on the pitch and off the pitch," Conte concluded. "To find the right solution with the players to explain that we all deserve better than last season."

Chelsea FC will take on AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Monday, December 26 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.