Antonio Conte's actions speak louder than words against 'fading fighter' Jose Mourinho

Sotto voce, in the language of the man who delivered his greatest ever abasement in English football, the twice ex-Chelsea boss had a few words of wisdom.

“It’s just my opinion, but don’t do that at 4-0. You can at 1-0, but at 4-0 it’s humiliation.”

That is the translation delivered by scholars of Italian – a complaint at the managerial celebrations that followed the final goal in a romp of epic proportions.

It reveals on Mourinho's part a power that is waning; and on his victor's, a growing new strength which could elevate Chelsea to a place they have not been for some time.

It is five paragraphs into this piece before Antonio Conte gets a mention: passionate, tactically supreme, and emphatically victorious against the only coach whose name was sung loud and clear around Stamford Bridge during the 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United.

And that is exactly how Mourinho wants it: for in victory, it must be about his team; and in defeat it must be about his words.

The outclassing of United, by a Chelsea team that had not truly hit its stride under Conte until this precise moment, was no less than brutal.

Away from the charged atmosphere of the Manchester derby, this was United's greatest thumping since their 5-0 battering on this very space 17 years ago.

And to choose this moment to deliver it, his supposed glorious homecoming, could not have carried more of a personal sting.

Mourinho knows how to control the big event, and he knows a thing or two about the showpiece humiliation.

The 6-0 humbling of Arsenal, on the occasion of Arsene Wenger's 1,000th match in charge of the club, was a case in point.

He didn't have to go for the jugular – but it is really not in his nature to avoid it.

Goalkeepers, of which Mourinho's father was famously one, are often said to have an unofficial union: a common understanding where mutual respect and understanding are key.

A keeper is seldom less comfortable than when he scores against one of his own: dishing humiliation on a member of a trade that seldom gets to bask in true glory.

Successful managers rarely display such humility – perhaps it is one of the reasons why the number one on the pitch so infrequently transfers to be the number one in the dugout.

Mourinho, pleading against Conte's supposed humiliation, is therefore no more than a fading fighter begging for the punches he once threw to stop coming back his way.

A brief chant of 'you're not special anymore', and a briefer one of 'getting sacked in the morning', were drowned out at Stamford Bridge at 4-0: not the Chelsea way; more so, the singing of Mourinho's name, once it was safe to do so.

But the twice Blues boss is clearly in the depths of a slump he has never before known: of his last 40 games he has lost 21, and won only seven.

Conte, meanwhile, is in the ascendancy – he has quietly watched and learned about this Chelsea side, before putting in place a cherished system to restore stability, and bring improvement.

Since switching to three at the back (at half-time against Arsenal) not a single goal has been conceded.

You can see why, at 4-0 against the man whose shadow hangs over his every move, he wanted to slam dunk like Michael Jordan and demand appreciation from those who pay his wages.

That is why Conte is different: why he has been chosen to be the solution to the quiz question posed by Mourinho's Chelsea self-destruction.

Though his actions on the touchline are extravagant, his words after are muted.

Yes, there was a sly dig in the aftermath about having played the game – the easiest way to knock Mourinho.

But, ultimately, his whisper of a voice is just that – no theatrics, no playing to the gallery.

That is where the difference between he and his permanent predecessor is most keenly marked: for, unlike when Mourinho talks about the primacy of the 'group', Conte really means it.

With his whisper, no cupped hand and in the glare of floodlights in front of hundreds of millions, Mourinho was desperate to be heard.

Conte's whisper, though barely audible, spoke far louder than anything Mourinho has said for some time.