BACKT NET! CHAMPIONS!
Chelsea win title...as Jose slams critics OF HE
JOSE MOURINHO watched Chelsea clinch the Barclays Premier League title yesterday — then used an obscure Portuguese proverb to slam his side’s critics.
Eden Hazard set off celebrations at Stamford Bridge with the only goal in a win over Crystal Palace.
Mourinho has now won eight league titles as a manager — three of them with Chelsea — but that hasn’t stopped some critics claiming Chelsea have stumbled over the finishing line playing defensive football.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini last night said: ‘Chelsea did what we did last season. We did it by scoring more goals and by playing in a different style. It’s important for the Premier League and the fans to play attractive football.’
But the Chelsea boss (right) hit back with a cryptic adage from his homeland, ‘Dogs bark, but the caravan keeps on’ — which means pay no attention to what people say about you.
Mourinho, whose side have led the title race from start to finish, losing just twice, added: ‘We did
BY THE end of the day, all those in Chelsea blue had what they came for and Roman Abramovich was waving and smiling down from his executive seat.
When you see Abramovich crack his surly Russian visage and display such emotion, you are witnessing a special moment, and here was his fourth Barclays Premier League title in 12 years since buying the club.
It ends a wait of five years and was clinched with three games to spare, thanks to a goal from Eden Hazard, who nodded in the rebound of a poor penalty he had seen saved just before half-time.
Chelsea had to dig in and defend but Jose Mourinho’s team do this so well. They produced another clean sheet and the best team in England are the champions.
Out came the streamers and that song by Queen. Champagne corks popped and t he bubbly was sprayed, scarves were wrapped around heads and players slid across the turf on their bellies. Messages, photographs and videos started to fly from their social media accounts.
The DJ moved on to One Step Beyond, a ska anthem of celebration at Stamford Bridge, and it all began to sink in: a first Premier League title for many of the squad, including Hazard.
He was an appropriate matchwinner on such a day, although his scruffy goal came with accusations that he dived for the penalty and there were uneasy moments when the coronation party seemed about to fall flat.
Mourinho’s touchline activities provided a strange sideshow. At times he sulked moodily, clearly dissatisfied with the support of the home crowd for his team, while seeming to court the noisy Palace fans in the Shed End.
The Chelsea manager ignored those in the Matthew Harding Stand when they sang his name and then seemed to react angrily when they sang Frank Lampard’s.
‘It was not a game to enjoy,’ said Mourinho, who has been under added stress since his father, Felix, suffered a brain haemorrhage last week. He dashed to Portugal by private plane after winning at Leicester and made another flying visit home on Friday.
‘I was there with him at the most difficult moment, the moment of surgery,’ he added. ‘ After that, everything is under control. He is getting strong and better and I am much more relaxed.’
Yesterday his wife Matilde was in the crowd. She rarely comes to watch but this was a special occasion and Mourinho went straight to her on the final whistle.
Palace made Chelsea sweat for the points, but these players have been injected with the sort of brutal mentality which is the hallmark of Mourinho’s teams. When not playing fluently, they still find a way to win.
It has been most evident in t he title r un- i n, when Mourinho’s small squad was beset by i njuries, most notably to top scorer Diego Costa. Oscar was missing yesterday and Ramires was taken ill during the warm-up and sent to hospital, which catapulted Juan Cuadrado into the team.
Cuadrado has not found his stride since arriving from Fiorentina in January and he struggled again. He did not make it past half- t i me. John Mikel Obi replaced him, the first of several defensive shifts from Chelsea.
By the end, Mourinho had six recognised defenders on the pitch protecting the lead, plus midfield enforcers Mikel and Nemanja Matic. Palace can be flattered. They had performed well, initially offering stubborn resistance which played on frayed nerves inside Stamford Bridge and then threatening on the break until the final seconds. Goalkeeper Julian Speroni denied Matic and Didier Drogba before Hazard won the penalty, threading a pass to Willian, collecting the return and wriggling into the box from his usual berth, wide on the left.
James McArthur closed him down and tried to pull out of the tackle but Hazard (left) forced the contact. At real speed, it seemed a penalty and referee Kevin Friend gave it in a flash. On the slow-motion replays, it looked more like Hazard had engineered it.
The Belgian’s spot-kick was easily saved by Speroni — the first time he has missed in the Premier League — but this one looped up, straight on to his head. Hazard seized this second chance.
Palace manager Alan Pardew refused to wade into controversy on Chelsea’s day of celebration, but he thought his team deserved a penalty for handball against John Terry as he blocked a fierce drive by Jason Puncheon when the game was goalless.
‘They’re difficult once they go ahead,’ said the Palace boss. ‘That’s what champions do, they don’t let you back in once they take the lead. They’ve had two defeats all season and they’ve done the job. That’s why this guy earns the money he earns. He wins trophies and he’ll win in the manner he sees fit for the occasion.’
Chelsea are champions. Worthy champions, it has to be said. More than one step beyond.