Antonio Conte: Cesc Fabregas is playing his way into the Chelsea team

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Vaishali Bhardwaj25 February 2017

Antonio Conte admits Cesc Fabregas is playing his way into his starting line-up at Chelsea after the Spaniard scored the opener in the 3-1 win over Swansea City on Saturday.

Conte opted to hand Fabregas his second successive start in all competitions for the visit of Paul Clement's side at Stamford Bridge, with the midfielder re-paying the Italian by scoring in the 19th minute on what was his 300th Premier League appearance.

The goal takes Fabregas' haul in the top-flight this season to three in 17 games although many of them have been as a substitute.

And Conte admitted he is pleased with the way the 29-year-old performed against the Swans, saying he is forcing his way into the team based on his impact as a sub.

"Cesc played a really good game, but it's important for me to have these solutions and also to analyse the games, game by game, to understand when we need to have a player with more quality (on the ball), and to lose something in height (and physique)," Conte said.

"For me, I consider Nemanja [Matic] a top player, and also [N'Golo] Kante, but also Fabregas. He's a really good player.

"I'm really pleased to see him in this form despite not starting the last game in the league. This is the right way to continue.

"The other example is Pedro and Willian. I'm pleased to have this type of players. They're putting themselves in the team. To have this type of player is fantastic for a coach."

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