Football
Liam Twomey, Chelsea correspondent 7y

Cesar Azpilicueta backs Branislav Ivanovic as big part of Chelsea team

Cesar Azpilicueta is backing Branislav Ivanovic to remain a "big part" of Chelsea after the Serbia international was benched by head coach Antonio Conte for Saturday's 2-0 win over Hull City.

Conte switched to a 3-4-3 system for the match at the KCOM Stadium in a bid to strengthen Chelsea's struggling defence, with deadline day signing Marcos Alonso and a Victor Moses deployed as wing-backs to provide additional cover.

Azpilicueta was chosen to play in an unfamiliar role alongside David Luiz and Gary Cahill in a three-man back line ahead of Ivanovic, whose performances over the past 18 months have attracted widespread criticism from the media and Chelsea supporters.

The Blues responded by keeping only their second clean sheet of the season, but Azpilicueta insists that Ivanovic, who will be out of contract next summer, will remain as crucial to the team's fortunes as ever.

"He is our vice-captain," Azpilicueta said of Ivanovic. "I have played with him since I arrived here four years ago and I know how important he is for us, the way he is working in every training session.

"It is also a long season and we have to work together. This season is very important for us after the last season which was really disappointing.

"Now its time to work together and I am sure he will be a big part of the team."

Conte's decision to change formations came at the end of a week in which Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was a regular visitor to the club's Cobham training complex, observing training and discussing the team's issues over lunch with his head coach.

Sources have told ESPN FC that the purpose of Abramovich's visit was to support rather than supervise Conte, but Azpilicueta admits that training at Cobham became noticeably more intense after damaging Premier League defeats against top-four rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.

"After the loss [to Arsenal] obviously we couldn't say nothing," he said with a smile. "I think we were all really disappointed, from the first team to the whole club and the fans, with the performance against Arsenal.

"The only way was to stick together, to work together, work hard and obviously [against Hull] we saw the result. It was very important to us."

After the match Conte hinted that Chelsea could stick with a 3-4-3 system in the coming weeks, but Azpilicueta believes that regardless of the formation, he and his teammates need to bring the same intensity and discipline exhibited at the KCOM Stadium.

"The manager is there to try to choose the best formation for every game, but I think to make a good system first of all you have to work together, to run and fight together, play together," the Spaniard added. "Then the system can make the difference.

"Without this passion and playing as a team it is difficult. You can play with six at the back or you can play with six upfront. This is the minimum that we have to give on the pitch, to be able to play different systems and do different tasks in every position for the team."

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