They sang his name and, each time they did, Antonio Conte acknowledged that support with respectful applause. At the end the emotion poured out, and he put his fingers to his lips and blew kisses.

On nights like this, when Eden Hazard is firing, the love of the common people is audible and the win is comfortable, it is hard to believe a Chelsea manager could ever be on the rocks in the middle of the season.

Yet that is the conundrum of Stamford Bridge. Monday night’s opponents have already seen off two Chelsea managers in the Roman Abramovich era, being the last league opponents for both Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo. Some thought Conte might go the same way if he lost a third straight game for the first time since he was manager at Atalanta in 2009.