Atmosphere ‘horrendous’
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has immediately turned his attention to matching fellow Italian Carlo Ancelotti by winning the Double in England after his record-breaking team were presented with the Premier League trophy at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The west London club, crowned champions of England for the sixth time in their history, enjoyed a party after two goals from substitute Michy Batshuayi and strikes from Willian, Eden Hazard and Pedro saw them come from 1-0 down to beat Sunderland 5-1 on an emotionally-charged last day of the Premier League season.
The celebrations cannot last too long, however, because Conte’s side, who became the first team to win 30 league games in a 38-game top flight season in England, have only six days to wait until playing the FA Cup final against London rivals Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday.
If Conte can inspire Chelsea to victory there he will match the achievements of Ancelotti who guided Chelsea to the Double in 2009/10.
However, they will need to re-focus quickly against an Arsenal side looking to make up for the disappointment of missing out on a place in the Champions League.
“This is the real danger for us – to think that this season is finstyle ished,” warned Conte.
“It’s important to celebrate as we did today, enjoying this moment with our families and fans, and celebrate this title because it wasn’t easy.
“But as of tomorrow (Monday), I’ll try and push a lot to explain that this season could become not just great but fantastic if we are able to win the FA Cup.”
Conte fears his side could miss out, however, if they let complacency set in.
“If you ask me who you think the favourites are now, I think it’s Arsenal,” he said.
Chelsea had already been confirmed as champions long before facing Sunderland but the way they came from behind to win in after Javier Manquillo had put Sunderland ahead in the third minute summed up their season.
The afternoon was not without its emotion, either, on what was Chelsea captain John Terry’s farewell to Stamford Bridge after announcing he will be leaving this summer after 22 years at the club.
“I’ll come back here one day, supporting the team for years to come,” he promised as he addressed fans afterwards.
“I’ve been very fortunate to work with some unbelievable players and managers throughout my career. I’m thankful to every single one of them. We all have to thank Roman Abramovich too. I’d like to thank him and all the board. He’s the best owner in world football.”
Terry completed his speech by embracing Conte and starting a chant of “Antonio, Antonio” which Abramovich, up in his private box in the West Stand, joined in with.
Ancelotti, of course, was sacked the season after winning the double despite his popularity with players and fans, so nothing is certain.
For Sunderland, any talk of titles and doubles is a distant dream as they prepare for life in the Championship.
“We are gutted about the season, but now we have to get over it quickly and get ready to go again,” said Sunderland manager David Moyes, the former Everton and Manchester United boss. – AFP
– Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (above) said an “absolutely horrendous” atmosphere had been partly responsible for his club’s failure to secure a Champions League place for the first time in 20 years.
Speaking after a 3-1 victory over Everton on the final day of the Premier League season, Wenger accepted that uncertainty over his future as manager, which has divided fans, had polluted the air at the Emirates Stadium.
He said there were other explanatory factors behind the club’s difficulties, but refused to go into greater detail.
Pressed as to when exactly he felt the uncertainty about his future had affected his players, he said: “It’s a good question. I cannot give you the answer today. I will give you an answer one day. But not today.”
The 67-year-old would only say say his future would be sorted out “soon”.
With Arsenal having finished fifth in the league, attention now turns to Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, when victory would give Wenger a record seventh success in the competition.
But he will be missing Laurent Koscielny after the French centreback was sent off for a rash challenge on Enner Valencia and also expects to be without Gabriel, who was stretchered off with a knee injury.
Everton playmaker Ross Barkley, who is stalling over a new contract, came off the bench to replace Tom Davies as part of a 26th-minute reshuffle by visiting manager Ronald Koeman.
Koeman said his decision to leave Barkley out had nothing to do with his contract situation, but said he expected to be able to make an announcement about the midfielder’s future imminently.
“I will speak to the board tomorrow and we will make a statement about that,” said the Dutchman, whose side finished seventh and will play in the Europa League next season.
On his ambitions for the close-season transfer window, Koeman said: “First of all we need more numbers in to be prepared for a long, tough season with different competitions.
“And I think we need more aggression in the team. The big point is to get in players who will have more productivity.” – AFP