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Sport looks back at how chelsea outlasted early pace-setters
DIR By: naijaontop
Date: May 13, 2017, 7:49 am
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HTML https://guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/000_OC80M-1062x598.jpg
After Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions on Friday,
AFP Sport looks back at how they outlasted early pace-setters
Manchester City and held off Tottenham Hotspur to claim the
title.
August
A title race that would finish at a canter began with a sprint.
Antonio Conte marked his first match as Chelsea manager with a
jubilant run down the Stamford Bridge touchline to celebrate
Diego Costa’s last-minute goal in a 2-1 win over West Ham
United. Victories over Watford and Burnley followed as Conte
made a flying start. There was no sign of Tottenham’s impending
emergence as they won just once in three matches.
September
Early optimism gave way to fears Conte might be out of his depth
during a chastening period for the Italian that included a 2-1
loss against Liverpool and a woeful 3-0 defeat at Arsenal. In
contrast, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s new manager, had his
table-toppers firing on all cylinders as they won their first
six matches, including a 2-1 success at Jose Mourinho’s
Manchester United.
October
Chelsea were revitalised by Conte’s switch to his preferred
three-man defensive system. They hammered out a statement of
intent by crushing champions Leicester City 3-0 and then routed
Manchester United 4-0 in a miserable return to the Bridge for
former boss Mourinho. Tottenham served notice of their title
credentials with a 2-0 victory over City, while Arsenal went
joint-top after their best spell of what would prove a troubled
campaign.
November
Coming from behind to inflict Tottenham’s first league defeat of
the season, Chelsea’s 2-1 home win — secured by goals from Pedro
and Victor Moses — sent them back to the top with a seventh
consecutive victory. City and Liverpool were only one point
behind, but Guardiola’s men were about to get their first taste
of the Chelsea revolution.
December
Chelsea’s swaggering 3-1 win at City sparked a spiteful response
from the hosts, who had Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho sent off
amid an ugly bench-clearing brawl. The Blues maintained their
momentum with a series of gritty 1-0 wins heading into Christmas
before closing out 2016 with goal sprees against Bournemouth and
Stoke City to equal the top-flight record of 13 successive
victories in a single season.
January
Chelsea suffered a new year hangover as Dele Alli’s brace gave
Tottenham a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane and ended the Blues’ bid
to set a new record winning streak. It was a dominant display
that paved the way for Tottenham to become Chelsea’s only
serious challengers, but Conte’s team recovered, beating
Leicester and Hull City, and held a nine-point lead at the end
of the month.
February
By the time Arsenal were put to the sword in a swashbuckling 3-1
Chelsea victory, Conte’s men had opened up what looked an
insurmountable 12-point advantage. When Tottenham were beaten
2-0 at Liverpool, it was hard to envisage a challenge from
across London, but Mauricio Pochettino’s side were about to hit
top gear. Stoke were their first victims, demolished 4-0 after
conceding four times in the first half.
March
Grinding out hard-fought 2-1 wins at both West Ham and Stoke
showed Chelsea were not taking their eyes off the prize as they
approached the final furlong. Tottenham responded by beating
Everton and Southampton to keep the gap at 10 points.
April
Lowly Crystal Palace gave renewed hope to Tottenham with a
stunning 2-1 win at Chelsea and the leaders’ second defeat in 23
league games was gleefully seized upon by Pochettino’s troops.
Spurs scored three goals in the closing minutes to win at
Swansea City, then battered both Watford and Bournemouth to move
to within four points of Chelsea. When the leaders slumped to a
limp 2-0 loss at Manchester United, the title race was back on.
But Chelsea were not to be denied and wins over Southampton and
Everton kept Tottenham at bay despite their victory in the north
London derby.
May
Tottenham’s nine-match winning streak and their bid for a first
English title since 1961 came to a shattering end in a 1-0
defeat at West Ham. Relentless Chelsea walloped Middlesbrough
3-0 and their second title in three seasons was sealed with a
1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.
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