ETIHAD WIN DISPLAYED TITLE CLASS
THERE are defining days in a season when a title-winning team demonstrates its capabilities.
Chelsea’s came on December 3 at The Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City, after a flying start to the season under Pep Guardiola, had suffered a wobble but looked as though they were getting back on track.
They went into that match on a six-match unbeaten run which including a 3-1 Champions League win against Barcelona.
This was the acid test for Antonio Conte’s side. This was the day City were confident they could derail Chelsea’s express route to another title.
The Italian led his side to a resounding 3-1 victory.
There were officially 3,004 Chelsea fans at City that day and they knew then they had witnessed a side capable of winning the title.
Chelsea were organised, competitive and devastating on the break as they recovered from trailing to a Gary Cahill own-goal with efforts from Diego Costa, Eden Hazard and Willian.
They had hit the top of the table for the first time just two weeks earlier and they’ve been there ever since to become worthy champions.
Some will remember that match for City having two players sent off late on.
But by then Chelsea had won the match and made a massive title statement.
If City had won then they would have been sitting at the top of the table that day – not Chelsea.
Conte said after that game: “I saw lots of character from my team and that’s very important if we are to grow. “But we must continue to improve.” Chelsea have certainly done that. Hazard was the star man that day, while there were influential performances from Costa and midfield enforcer N’Golo Kante, who knows how to win the title.
The little Frenchman (above) did it the previous season with Leicester and has enjoyed an even more successful season at Stamford Bridge, winning both the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.
There are also seems to be something about an away team winning 3-1 at City.
Leicester did it the previous season on their way to their title triumph.
Much has been made of Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat at Arsenal eight months ago.
That prompted Conte to switch to his preferred system of 3-4-3 – or 3-4-2-1 if you prefer, with Costa as the target man supported by Hazard and, in the main, Pedro rather than Willian.
How good must Chelsea be to have a player like Willian on the bench? Well, I think we know the answer.
That day at Arsenal was the day Chelsea got it wrong, but day at City, in contrast, was the day they got it right – big style. PAUL HETHERINGTON This time last year the Londoners were labelled an utter joke after their title defence ended with them in 10th place – a staggering 31 points behind champions Leicester City. Slammed by the critics, who accused them of getting Jose Mourinho the sack, the Stamford Bridge players were also mocked by rival fans gloating over the sudden fall from grace. Chelsea keeper Courtois admitted that stick and ridicule was embarrassing and hard to stomach. Little wonder, then, that with Chelsea having regained the Premier League crown on Friday night, courtesy of a 1-0 victory at West Brom, Courtois and his team-mates were hailing the incredible impact of boss Conte. In l ess t han 10 months, t he ex-Juventus coach has transformed Chelsea from chumps to champs – and in the process silenced the snipers in emphatic fashion. Yesterday, Courtois could not resist a swipe at the doubters as he basked in the glory of a second title triumph in three years – and the sixth in the club’s history.
The Belgium stopper, 25, said: “It’s amazing, especially after last year when we had a lot of critics and a lot of laughter at us.
“To bounce back, to be champions after being top for such a long time, is very special.
“Obviously last year when we were 15th or 16th, people laughed and criticised us. That’s not nice when you’ve won the league the season before.
“Some of it was deserved but some of it wasn’t. They said we didn’t want to play. They said we were lazy – stuff that just wasn’t true.
“We tried to win our games but it was an off year. Everybody here is used to playing for trophies and last season that was not the case.
“That hurt our pride and that’s why we wanted to bounce back this season. It’s an amazing feeling to do that by winning the title again.”
If the players were stirred into action by the harsh comments of outsiders, there is no