#2 Pedro repays Conte for having faith in him
Conte had no real reason to start Pedro ahead of Willian but he did. The Spaniard hasn’t had the best time at Chelsea since his arrival as he was largely ignored by Mourinho and then Hiddink. But the Italian believed in him and Pedro repaid his faith in him in the most spectacular fashion. Marcos Alonso had the foresight to spot Pedro in an advanced position when he delivered a fabulous cross within seconds of kick-off.
The goal itself was all Pedro’s credit as he spooked De Gea and then quickly moved on to take him and both Chris Smalling and Daley Blind out of the running. The former Barcelona player was on fire for the Blues all night. He was hard at work, running up and down the flanks and midfield area. It was surely his intense work-rate that convinced Conte to start him and not Willian, a bigger favourite with the club.
