Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has explained why the new poster boy of Nigerian football Victor Moses started on the bench in his side's shock 1-0 loss to West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Since recovering from a hamstring injury that kept him on the sidelines for seven straight weeks, Moses had started the Blues last two games against Atlético Madrid and Newcastle prior to today's contest with the Hammers.

''It’s rotation. Against Atletico Madrid, [Marcos] Alonso was on the bench,'' Conte said to Sky Sports.

''Against Newcastle, Zappacosta was on the bench. It’s about rotation with so many games in a row when you spend a lot of energy.

''I’m very happy because Victor has recovered very well from a bad injury. And now we need to protect him.''

Moses eventually came off the bench in the 55th minute as Chelsea desperately searched for an equalizer in vain.

Igho Kingsley