Conte’s Chelsea see winning not entertaining as the greatest virtue
CHELSEA’S fans had been working their way through the champions-in-waiting’s songbook for about half an hour, ever since the first goal went in. They touched on all the old, traditional standards – “Now You’re Gonna Believe Us”, “We Are Top of the League” and so on – and gave air to more recent releases too, like: “Tottenham Hotspur, We’re Waiting for You”.
With every recital, the volume grew louder; with every added goal too. By the time the final whistle went, and Chelsea’s 3-0 victory against Everton was confirmed, it sounded as if the faithful had reached the top of their range.
Not quite. Chelsea’s players headed to the Bullens Road Paddock – the corner of that atmospheric old stadium where the travelling fans are corralled – as soon as the match was finished.
After exchanging pleasantries with Everton’s coaching staff, Antonio Conte, the Chelsea manager, walked over to join his team.
Conte is an accomplished rabblerouser, and evidently things were not sufficiently boisterous for him. When he arrived on the touchline, he raised his arms and pumped his fists, and then jumped on the back of his tallest player, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The fans roared their approval, and the decibel level steadily rose, the songs of defiance and delight echoing around Goodison Park, empty apart from that one ecstatic corner.
Chelsea will be champions, Conte knows that – this was, by some distance, the most exacting test left to the club, and it was passed with comparative ease. Chelsea now remain four points ahead of their nearest challengers, after Tottenham defeated Arsenal in their London derby a couple of hours after Conte’s celebration in Liverpool.
There are four games left. Three of Chelsea’s are at home, against some of the Premier League’s lesser lights. Convention dictates that Conte talk about “taking it game by game”, demanding that his players should not get ahead of themselves, but these are just platitudes now.
Given that Conte’s players have now led the Premier League for 20 games – they went top of the stand- ings on December 11, and have not offered so much as a sliver of light since – and have looked unassailable for months, it is curious that so much praise they have received has, on the surface, been so qualified.
“The main thing you notice about Chelsea this season is that they are very fit,” said West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic.
“They work hard, they are very solid and on top of that, they have that quality up front which is basically making the difference in every game. If you compare them with the other title contenders, Chelsea is more solid than Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.”
It was not exactly a paean to greatness, and it was far from unique. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s suggestion that Chelsea is just an “amazing defensive team” can probably be discounted as partisan politics.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola’s assertion that it is only efficiency in “both boxes” that has separated Chelsea from their rivals should be treated with similar caution.
Everton’s Ronald Koeman, in defeat on Sunday, suggested Chel- sea did not need to play “to a high football level to know they will win a game”.
“It is a difficult system to play against,” he added. “They are really experienced, they know how to wait, and then they are really clinical. They do not need many chances.”
It all sounds, somehow, damningly faint: fixating on how much farther they run, or how well drilled they are, as if it is somehow cheating, when other, more exciting, more gifted teams would be more romantic or more deserving champions.
And yet, in that asterisked praise – Chelsea, the best* team in England (but not the most talented) – is the reason that it is Conte’s team preparing for a parade and not all of the others.
The Premier League fetishises entertainment, an entertainment that depends on a degree of imperfection. It is teams with easily exposed and easily exploited flaws, teams that can touch the sky one minute and plumb the depths the next, that provide compelling viewing.
Chelsea under Conte have not bought into any of that. They are ruthless and they are clinical and they are all of those things their reluctant admirers mention, and that is why they will be champions.
Sunday was a case in point. Chelsea were not spectacular, though their first and third goals showcased the talent at Conte’s disposal.
But the team did not panic. They demonstrated their calm and patience – qualities sadly lacking in the saloon-brawl atmosphere of English football – and found their reward.
Conte’s Chelsea don’t see entertainment as a v ir tue. Entertainment is a by product, or it is a weakness. Winning – now there is a v ir tue.