Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte need time to change past habits

ESPN FC's Craig Burley says the pressure is firmly back on Jose Mourinho after Man United's draw with Stoke.

Pep Guardiola's admission that his Manchester City side had been outplayed by Tottenham in their 2-0 defeat on Sunday was a statement of the obvious. Nevertheless, it was interesting to hear one of his explanations for their superiority.
"We played against a team who had the same trainer for the last two or three years," he said. "They were one step in front of us today."
Continuity, or lack thereof, is something of a theme this season. One of the reasons the top of the Premier League is so intriguing is that three of the main contenders for the title (Man United, City and Chelsea) have new managers: not just men who have their own styles, but men whose styles contrast significantly with their predecessors.
That was certainly something Antonio Conte lingered on after Chelsea's nerve-calming 2-0 win over Hull City. The first weeks of the Italian's tenure at Stamford Bridge have been rather uneven, Saturday representing their first victory since August. Questions have been asked about their lack of defensive solidity, to the point that Conte almost seemed more pleased with the clean sheet (also their first since August) than the win.
Conte changed Chelsea's system to a three-man defence on Saturday, and while Hull's attack didn't exactly provide the sternest of tests, the players did at least show they could cope with the formation he often deployed to great success with Juventus and Italy.
Conte noted afterwards that the "principles are more important than the system" and Chelsea's sticky start to the season is, at least in part, down to the instilling of those principles. It will not come immediately.