Antonio Conte shook his head with a rueful expression. “It’s not easy,” the Chelsea manager said. “Every game. To make the best decision between Pedro or Willian. It’s not easy to keep Cesc sometimes on the bench. That is not easy for a player who is used to playing every game.”

What Conte was expressing was football’s equivalent of the First-World Problem (you could argue that in the gilded cage of elite football, all problems are first-world problems, but that is probably another discussion). Conte is developing quite a line in these. After crushing Tottenham 4-2 at Wembley, he spent ages complaining about the fixture schedule. Here, after a 3-0 win that brought the title within fingertip reach, he was at it again.

Pedro or Willian? Fabregas or Kanté? My diamond shoes need reheeling, and have you seen how much Mercedes-Benz charge for sheepskin seat covers? All good clean fun, of course – and this win encapsulated the wealth of attacking options at Conte’s disposal.

Diego Costa still struggling for form? Eden Hazard marked out of the game? Not a problem: up steps Pedro with a 25-yard screamer to break the deadlock. Off the bench springs Willian to make the points safe. Trying to stop Chelsea is like an infuriating game of Whack-a-Mole, a Sisyphean labour of infinite plugholes and finite plugs.