Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has said that his side's 3-0 victory over Bournemouth this afternoon sent a "good message" out to the rest of the league.
The Blues were missing suspended duo Diego Costa and N'Golo Kante as they welcomed the Cherries to Stamford Bridge, but that did not prevent them from picking up a club-record 12th straight victory.
Chelsea now sit seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table, and Conte challenged his side to maintain their form until the end of the season.
"I think today we sent a good message. A lot of people waited [to see if] without two really important players - Costa and Kante - we could lose points. It didn't happen," he told reporters.
"If you ask me, I hope to continue until the end of this season. For me it's important only for the table. With these 12 wins in a row we took 36 points and our table is fantastic now.
"I always thought that the record is not important if at the end you don't reach something important in your championship. But to be with my players, to have this record, for sure we are proud about this. Now we want to continue in this way. For sure it won't be easy."
Chelsea will finish the year by hosting Stoke City on New Year's Eve.
Barney Corkhill
