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Despite winning the Premier League under Antonio Conte, the 2016-17 season wasn’t always the happiest of times for Cesc Fabregas.

Seemingly forgotten by the Italian at the start of the campaign, the Spaniard eventually managed to find himself a spot in his manager’s plans, but it could have been very different.

Giving a lengthy interview to Marca ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, the 29-year-old opened up about his struggles.

Never wanting to leave the club in the summer, Fabregas’ determination has paid off, now a regular in Conte’s plans, even if he did come off the bench against Stoke at the weekend.

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Still, he’s started all of the other games (bar the Tottenham game for which he was suspended), and he can pinpoint exactly where everything changed for him under the Italian.

He said: “I decided I would stay and fight. The game against Manchester City (3-1 win for Chelsea) was a turning point. Matic was injured. The team had won seven games in a row, and suddenly I was picked.

“I had not played in that system (3421/343)… Had we lost, it would have been the end. Everything went well, we came back (from being 1-0 down) and played in a solid way”.

From that moment onwards, Conte appeared to trust Fabregas far more, and the Spaniard ended up becoming a rotational option and occasional starter at Stamford Bridge, ending the season with five goals and 12 assists in 29 league appearances.