Antonio Conte’s historic Chelsea masterclass is something Spurs fans will never witness

OPINION: As Antonio Conte returns to the Premier League on Sunday against Everton for Spurs, the masterclass the Italian oversaw at Stamford Bridge in 2016 is unlikely to be repeated again.

It feels typical of Premier League football that the first opposition Antonio Conte will face on his return to England's top flight is the same one he did almost five years to the day as Chelsea put on one of their greatest attacking displays under the lights of Stamford Bridge.

On Saturday 5th November 2016 Chelsea welcomed the Toffees to Stamford Bridge for an evening kick-off. Conte had only recently shifted the Blues now infamously to the 3-4-3 system that would propel them to a Premier League title come May.

Conte's team had also just begun their historic 13-game winning run that would stretch to the first week of January.

Chelsea's starting eleven was one that would become predictable in the coming months for the regularity Conte fielded it to great success.

Thibaut Courtois in goal, a back three of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz and Gary Cahill. The two wingbacks of Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso, either side of the midfield duo of N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic. In the Italian's front three was the highly productive Pedro, lethal marksmen Diego Costa and magician Eden Hazard.

This would be a trademark performance for Hazard who scored twice, both extraordinary feats of skill and execution to tear Ronald Koeman's Everton defence to shreds.

Not long after Hazard's first, Marcos Alonso would pop up inside the box to net his first of many for the club. Costa rifled home a third from a corner before the interval as Everton were bamboozled by Chelsea's movement and dazzling attack.

In the second half Hazard would add a fourth, an individual move that started outside the box before he danced his way between desperate Everton defenders, flailing any leg in hope of stopping the Belgian from inflicting more damage, but they couldn't. Hazard drilled a left-footed effort into the bottom corner.

Pedro added the fifth, only one of a season of important goals which turned out to be his strongest for the club.

Stamford Bridge was delirious with excitement, chanting the name "Antonio" repeatedly as the manic coach darted across the touchline demanding even more from his excellent players.

Iconic BBC commentator John Motson went on BBC Radio 5 Live after to explain why the performance was so historic to him personally.

"This was the best 90-minute performance I have ever seen in the Premier League," Motson said.

"I put it above anything I ever saw from Arsenal when they were at their best and I put it above anything I saw from Manchester United. This was football on another planet."

Motson would go on to proclaim Conte's side had no weaknesses and believed they would go on to win the league, which they emphatically did six months later.

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This was one of many statement performances in Conte's incredible first season in west London, where he turned a massively underachieving group the previous year into one of the best teams Chelsea fans have ever witnessed.

The level of performance produced that night will be hard to replicate at Spurs with Conte beginning his time on Sunday against the same opposition.

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