London: Even with his choice of coat, Pep Guardiola likes doing things the hard way. Finding a pen in one of the numerous zipped pockets would be a challenge in itself.
But Antonio Conte proved once again that the simple things can be the most extraordinary, as his Chelsea side moved closer to the Premier League title and ended Manchester City’s hopes of making a late charge.
Guardiola abandoned the coat that would take Arsene Wenger an entire season to work out in the 11th minute at Stamford Bridge, just after Eden Hazard had given Chelsea the lead.
The Spaniard would have also been wise to abandon his pre-match plan of putting Jesus Navas up against Hazard, but this is a man who revels in making life difficult for himself.
You cannot help but feel that Guardiola’s first season could have gone so much better if he had just done the simple things. Pablo Zabaleta may not be the player he once was, but he remains a better right-back than Navas.
With every game and goal conceded, the decision to ditch Joe Hart looks more puzzling and Willy Caballero’s failure to stop Hazard’s opener only underlined the theory that Guardiola has made problems for himself.
For his faults, Hart is still a more reliable goalkeeper in the Premier League than either Caballero or summer signing Claudio Bravo. Hazard could not believe his luck that he was up against makeshift right-back Navas. He wriggled his way free in the 22nd minute and picked out Cesc Fabregas, but Gael Clichy managed to get in the way of the midfielder’s shot.
It was too easy for the Belgian. Unsurprisingly, Navas was nowhere to be seen when Fabregas played Pedro into the left side of the penalty area and Fernandinho conceded the penalty from which Hazard scored at the second attempt.
When he has needed a coat, or a hat for that matter, Conte has opted for standard club-issue clothing during his first season in the Premier League.
The Italian has proved himself the master of simplicity, much to the benefit of Chelsea who are on course to end the campaign with a league and FA Cup double.
For all the hours of hard work put in behind the scenes, Conte has made management look easy. He has found a winning formula and stuck to it.
Changes have been minimal and uncomplicated. Conte has also realised he has the most dangerous player in the Premier League in Hazard and has set his team up to get the best out of the 26-year-old.
Give Hazard the ball and things will happen. It is not rocket science, but it is very, very effective. Hazard’s second goal was his seventh of the season against top-seven opposition. He is the man for the big occasion, the man who steps up when titles are there to be won.
There was a moment in the second half when Hazard picked the ball up near his own goal and went on a mazy run across Chelsea’s penalty area. It looked a suicidal decision, but the forward won a priceless free-kick from his Belgium teammate Vincent Kompany to relieve some pressure.
With Victor Moses still out with a toe injury, Conte did not feel this was the time to take risks or try to be clever. Pedro had suffered a difficult afternoon filling in at right wing-back against Crystal Palace, so Conte made the easiest change available to him.
Cesar Azpilicueta switched to wing-back and Kurt Zouma stepped into the back three. The change was not completely fool-proof, as it was Zouma’s back pass that Thibaut Courtois kicked straight to David Silva, whose shot was saved before Sergio Aguero netted.
Zouma was also outpaced by Leroy Sane on a couple of occasions in the first half, which perhaps contributed to Conte’s decision to replace the Frenchman with Nemanja Matic at the break and restore Azpilicueta to the back three.
Guardiola, on the other hand, remained stubborn and Navas retook his position at right-back for the second half.
The City manager threw his arms into the air, when Navas did not take an opportunity to beat Marcus Alonso and instead cut back on to his left foot.
It was a poor decision, but not as poor as the one to have him on the pitch in the first place. Guardiola would do well to follow Conte’s lead and enjoy the simple things in life — starting by swapping his coat for one with a more manageable number of zips.
