Match-winner Fabregas must fight for place – Conte

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said Cesc Fabregas would still have to fight for his place in the team despite being the match-winner against Sunderland.

Fabregas, on just his third Premier League start of the campaign, scored the only goal five minutes before half-time by stroking the ball past Jordan Pickford.

The Spaniard had played a full part in Chelsea’s 3-1 win at Manchester City earlier this month but found himself back on the bench again for the win over West Brom last weekend.[phone][/phone]

And Conte admitted he would continue to pick the team on a horses-for-courses basis, and not just on a player’s contribution in the previous game.

He said: “Cesc is a good player for us.

“In the middle, I have four midfielders – [Nemanja] Matic, [N’Golo] Kante, Fabregas and [Nathaniel] Chalobah and I think it’s important for me to evaluate the situation, the good form of the players and the type of game.

“In some games, you need a more physical player or a player with more technique. But it’s important that Cesc played a good game.”

Conte’s roll-call of his four central midfielders seems to confirm there is no future at the club for Oscar – strongly linked with a £60m move to Shanghai SIPG in China – or John Mikel Obi, who has not featured under Conte at all during his 11th season at the club

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