Bogey man Antonio Conte hands Jose Mourinho his third straight losing return to Chelsea

A surefire way for a Chelsea manager to ease any anxieties is the sight of a dejected Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.

Antonio Conte achieved just that on Sunday, handing Mourinho a third successive losing return visit to Chelsea with Manchester United.

Alvaro Morata’s second-half header secured the 1-0 Premier League win as Chelsea outplayed United to instantly recover from a debilitating loss at Roma in the Champions League.

The spirited performance moved the fourth-place champions a point behind Mourinho’s side, while Manchester City extended their lead over United to eight points by beating Arsenal 3-1.

“We are worried,” said Mourinho, who won the Premier League three times across two spells as Chelsea manager. “But there are 18 teams more worried than us because we are second.”

Conte, though, is less worried than he was going into a game that saw defender David Luiz ruthlessly dropped and forced to watch from the stands.