Pedro's Boxing-Day Display Gives Chelsea Their Holy Trinity in Attack

The momentum has been building throughout their 12-match winning run, and Chelsea defeating Bournemouth on Boxing Day proved it: Antonio Conte now has his Holy Trinity of front men.

With no Diego Costa, owing to a one-match suspension, the goalscoring responsibility fell to Eden Hazard and Pedro against the Cherries. They didn't disappoint, with the latter feeling aggrieved to have Chelsea's third of the game taken off and credited as an own goal for Steve Cook.

That would have been Pedro's second of the game, taking him to five Premier League goals this season. Even without that strike etched next to his name, the combined tally for Conte's preferred three-man attack is still impressive.

Between them, Costa, Hazard and Pedro have an impressive 26 goals in the league this season. That's more than 13 other Premier League teams combined; were it not for Pedro's other "goal" against Bournemouth, it would be equal to Manchester United's 27 this term.

It's that sort of return that creates dominance in teams. It's what wins trophies and, better still, league titles. They're not on the same level yet, but when we consider the success of Barcelona and Real Madrid in recent years, it's by having a deadly trio of attackers that has made them appear unstoppable at times. There are another eight players to consider in this Chelsea side, but their roles are as the supporting act. It's what happens in the final third that ultimately wins matches, and right now, none are competing with Chelsea when we consider the Premier League.

Costa's goalscoring has been the cornerstone of Conte's impact at Stamford Bridge. He's won the team 16 points directly this season with goals that have decided games. To do that all season would be too much, but Chelsea shouldn't be concerned by that, as Hazard and Pedro have stepped up.

Indeed, it was a notion that Bleacher Report suggested as far back as August. The Blues had just convincingly beaten Burnley 3-0, with Hazard finding himself on the scoresheet. While Costa didn't score that afternoon, it was the link-up play of the pair that suggested where things could go for them.

Their performance spoke of an innate understanding that could prove lethal, but there was a missing piece. Willian had been the third player in attack for Conte's side and despite scoring, he has never shown himself to be consistently prolific in a Chelsea shirt. For the Blues to be a true threat in front of goal, they needed another player to hit similar levels to Hazard and Costa.

Now they've found that man in Pedro. Earlier in the campaign, we were still judging the Spaniard on the form of his debut campaign in England, yet that's all changed. As we head into a new year, we're being sold on the ex-Barcelona man's goals and role under Conte.

A big part of that is because he's playing in his natural role as an inside forward. Last season, both Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink were asking Pedro to be a winger, but with Victor Moses outside him as the wing-back, he's now able to play more centrally and offer a threat closer to the goal. It's no coincidence that he's scoring more as a result.

That's what Chelsea needed from Pedro. He's sharing that burden with Costa and Hazard now, which, in turn, is winning Chelsea football matches as they roll from game to game, closing in on Arsenal's record winning streak of 14 victories in a row, set in 2002.

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On paper, it was a surprise to see Michy Batshuayi starting on the bench in Costa's absence against Bournemouth. But then in a real-time situation, over the course of 90 minutes, we saw the wisdom behind Conte's desire to feature Hazard and Pedro together, alongside Willian.

The Chelsea boss doesn't want this run of wins to end, not when the momentum is building and his team are edging away from the chasing pack at the top. For that to happen, he needs guarantees when it comes to his players, and in the present moment, there's no better, nailed-on option than Pedro, Hazard and Costa when they're all available.

"I think Eden, Pedro and Willian played really well," Conte said at the final whistle. "And after the Crystal Palace game, I said in the press conference that we had a week to work to find the right solution and to play for the first time this season without Diego, without [N'Golo] Kante.

"After a week of work, I decided to play, to choose this type of solution with Eden, Pedro and Willian. I'm pleased for the performance of these players. I think that Michy Batshuayi is a really good player, but he's a young player, and he's trying to adapt to this league, this football. I try to make the best decision for the team, but I'm sure Michy could have the possibility to show his talent in the future."

The comparison with Batshuayi is easily transferred to this Chelsea team and the manager leading them. In terms of experience in English football, Conte is also learning about the league himself. His mind is young in that sense, and his decision-making has to reflect that.

Batshuayi was going to be a risk, regardless of the argument to start with an out-and-out striker in the place of another out-and-out striker. Conte couldn't afford that; he had to go with the what he knows, and as it stands, Batshuayi doesn't enter that reckoning. Pedro does, however.

The Spaniard's display wasn't about one game. It was about an entire season, and he's helping deliver a platform for Chelsea to go on and achieve something to rival Leicester City's achievements last term.

Of course, with their resources and talent pool, Chelsea's achievements are about something else. Whereas Leicester were unfancied and couldn't dream of title success themselves, let alone have others do it for them, Chelsea's renaissance has been about a club unifying after disaster.

The scar tissue from last season cut deep; Chelsea were flatlining, and after Conte performed his act of resuscitation, he still needed to find solutions for mid-table failure to become credible top-of-the-table fare.

The turnaround has been incredible. This time last season, Chelsea were 14th with just 20 points on the board. In terms of their league return, Pedro, Hazard and Costa had just seven goals between them. Now the Blues are seven points clear at the top and sit on 46 points.

With a Holy Trinity of attacking talent, it's no coincidence.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes