CONTE’S PARTY IN FULL SWING
Jubilant Chelsea boss knows the title is close
IF swinging from the dugout roof was not enough indication that Gary Cahill’s late winner seemed seismic, Antonio Conte’s full-time bear hugs for his players certainly were.
This was more deliriously animated than ever from the consistently excitable Chelsea boss.
He knows now, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Premier League title is heading for Stamford Bridge.
‘That was up there for all of us,’ Cahill said. ‘You saw the celebrations — everyone knows what that game meant to win.
‘It’s like a blur. I just went absolutely berserk. That could be a massive result.’
Conte senses the ground work for years to come is being laid by his team.
‘My players are understanding my idea of football,’ he said. ‘They are going to adapt in my system. In my philosophy of football. It is true that I think we are building something important.’
Important, too, that Diego Costa did not lose his rag after several confrontations with Ryan Shawcross and Bruno Martins Indi before the break. Conte had words with the striker at half-time. Cahill — likely to be named England captain for the trip to Germany on Wednesday — took him to one side during the first half as well.
‘They tried to put our players out of the game,’ Thibaut Courtois said. ‘They know Diego doesn’t like it and he maybe starts to fight with people. Maybe they do this to get him a red card or something.
‘Diego exaggerates a bit as well. But most of the times they were hitting and fouling him.
‘After four or five 50-50 moments, when the referee can whistle or not whistle, he gets a little angry and collects yellow cards.
‘It’s important for him to keep calm and I think he’s done that a lot this season — even after they kicked him he remained calm. That’s very good for us.’
Costa’s temper can be an issue — and it was noticeable how subdued he appeared following Conte’s talk — but Chelsea are a relentless machine.
Conte is getting the little things right in his first trailblazing season in England. The players, Courtois revealed, are reacting to a manager who is one of them.
‘Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool were all in front of their TVs and saw us win again,’ he said. ‘That’s very demoralising for the other teams.’
Cahill, whose winning goal atoned for giving away the penalty from which Jon Walters equalised, is wary of the scrutiny he is under given England’s dearth of defensive leaders.
‘You almost see the headlines. “Cahill should have done this, Cahill’s dropped this”. I’ve felt like this a couple of times this season.
‘People are quick to criticise and when things are going well, we’re winning games and we’re keeping clean sheet after clean sheet, it’s kind of looked upon as the norm. The moment you pull up an error — it’s highlighted tenfold.’
SUPER STAT: Willian’s sixth Premier League goal of the season is his best return since joining Chelsea in 2013. STOKE (4-1-3-2): Grant 5; Bardsley 5.5, Martins Indi 7, Shawcross 6, Pieters 6; Cameron 6; Arnautovic 6, Allen 6.5, Sobhi 6 (Crouch 90min); Berahino 5.5 (Diouf 61, 6), Walters 7.5. Subs not used: Given, Muniesa, Whelan, Adam, Afellay. Scorer: Walters (pen) 38. Booked: Allen, Bardsley, Pieters, Martins Indi, Cameron. Sent off: Bardsley. CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois 6.5; Azpilicueta 7, Luiz 7, Cahill 6; Moses 7 (Fabregas 70min, 6), Kante 8, Matic 7.5 (Loftus-Cheek 82), Alonso 8.5; Willian 6.5 (Zouma 88), Costa 6.5, Pedro 6.5. Subs not used: Begovic, Ake, Chalobah, Batshuayi. Booked: Costa, Fabregas. Scorers: Willian 13, Cahill 87. Man of the match: N’Golo Kante. Referee: Anthony Taylor 7.