LONDON -- Antonio Conte has not been surprised by Eden Hazard's talent after the Belgian produced an exceptional performance as a false nine in Chelsea's 3-0 win against Bournemouth.
Hazard led the line at Stamford Bridge in place of suspended top scorer Diego Costa and converted a penalty -- his 50th goal in the Premier League -- while Pedro Rodriguez also struck twice to secure the Blues a club-record 12th win in a row in the competition.
Speaking after the match Conte was reluctant to single out Hazard over another impressive team performance, but said that he was very familiar with the Belgian's abilities before he took over at Stamford Bridge in July.
"I knew Eden only as an opponent [with Italy]," Conte said. "For sure I watched him a lot of times on TV. I'm not surprised because he has great talent, but the most important thing is him putting his talent in the team.
"It's fantastic for me to see the great job he is doing with the ball but also without the ball. It's fantastic. I hope to continue to improve in this way. I am pleased for him but also all my players.
"I think Eden, Pedro and Willian played really well. After the Crystal Palace game I said we had a week to work to find the right solution, to play for the first time without Diego, without Kante.
"After a week of work, I decided to choose this type of solution, with Eden, Pedro and Willian [up front]. I'm pleased for the performance of these players."
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe also spoke highly of Hazard's performance, labelling the penalty that the Belgian won and converted in the 49th minute the key moment of the match.
"I thought he was outstanding," Howe said of Hazard. "His movement, his ability to turn on the ball so quickly, his technical ability is at a very high level.
"When you've got him, Pedro and Willian counterattacking you at such pace it's difficult, and that was probably where we fell short -- we gave them too many [opportunities] to get in those situations by not being tight enough on the ball. That's something we'll take away from this game."
Asked what impression Chelsea had made on him as a team, Howe replied: "I think there's very little between the top teams this year. It depends which day you catch them on. You've got several teams up there who fancy their chances of winning this league.
"Chelsea have match-winners in their team, players who can decide a game in a moment, so they've got a great chance of going all the way. Their manager has done a superb job with the players this year and they're very strong."