Important signings, a balanced squad, fitness, mental strength and, of course, the Special One - Matt Law looks at why Chelsea are worthy champions
Signings
Diego Costa has enjoyed a fine first season - especially the first half
Chelsea comfortably did the best transfer business of the Premier League title challengers last summer and have reaped the benefit. Jose Mourinho identified the positions he needed to fill and the players he wanted, and the club moved quickly and decisively. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have been crucial, particularly over the first half of the season, while Didier Drogba has helped Eden Hazard to move up a couple of levels and has chipped in with important goals himself. Bringing Thibaut Courtois back to the club and making him No 1 ahead of Petr Cech has also worked out well for Mourinho and Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho
Nobody 'plays the game' better than Mourinho
Love him or loathe him, there is no denying that Mourinho is the ultimate winner and has once against proved himself to be a better tactician than his rivals. Mourinho introduced a new attractive Chelsea team at the start of the season, but reacted when he sensed fatigue was catching up with his players and reverted to a more defensive style. When Mourinho feared an attack on his team, he created a siege mentality by claiming there was a “campaign” against the club. Rivals might not like his games, but nobody plays them better and nobody can question their effectiveness.
Mental strength
Chelsea have not dropped below first place this campaign
Chelsea have topped the Premier League table since day one, re-establishing their lead every time Manchester City have got to within breathing distance of them. While City have faltered at vital moments, Arsenal made a slow start and Manchester United have stuttered their way through the season, Chelsea have managed to come through sticky patches of form unscathed. The ability of Mourinho’s team to grind out a result or find a vital late goal has been second to none. Chelsea have always bounced back from a bad result, never losing two games in succession in all competitions at any point during the season.
Fitness
Eden Hazard (right) is the most fouled in the Premier League
A total of 13 Chelsea players have made 20 or more Premier League appearances this season, which highlights just how few members of his squad Mourinho has relied upon. Costa has struggled with hamstring injuries, but, otherwise, Chelsea have got through the season relatively unscathed in terms of injuries. Hazard is comfortably the most fouled player in the Premier League and yet the Belgian has managed to get up every time he has been hacked down. Mourinho has admitted that Chelsea’s impressive injury record is a mixture of good practice and good fortune.
Balance
Chelsea defend and attack well
Too many Premier League teams either defend well or attack well, but do not do both. This has been the case with Chelsea’s rivals. Louis van Gaal managed to sure up Manchester United’s defence, but they have not scored enough goals. Manchester City have suffered problems in defence and Arsenal were still prone to the occasional blunder during the first half of the season. Chelsea, though, have managed to outscore their opponents and keep things tight at the back. Accusations of Mourinho’s team being boring are ridiculous, as Chelsea are the only side who can claim to have got it right at both ends of the pitch over the entire campaign.
How Chelsea won the Premier League title
How Chelsea won the Premier League title
12 June: Cesc Fabregas signs from Barcelona for £27m
A major transfer coup just before the start of the World Cup, as Chelsea secure the Spaniard’s signature and prevent him returning to rivals Arsenal.
15 July: Diego Costa signs from Atletico Madrid for £32m
The combative frontman’s long-mooted move to Stamford Bridge is finally completed and Chelsea’s shortage of striking options, which had cost them the previous season, is finally fixed.
18 August: Burnley 1 Chelsea 3
Their new star striker grabs a debut goal and Cesc Fabregas puts in a man-of-the-match performance, but the Blues have to come from behind before they can dispatch newcomers Burnley.
23 August: Chelsea 2 Leicester 0
Didier Drogba’s return to Stamford Bridge is marked with another hard-fought victory over another newly-promoted side. The heroics of Thibaut Courtois in goal twice deny Leicester from taking an unlikely lead.
30 August: Everton 3 Chelsea 6
Jose Mourinho bemoans his team’s defending despite coming out on top in a nine-goal thriller and maintaining their 100 per cent record. "It was wonderful for everyone watching, but not for me," he said.
21 September: Man City 1 Chelsea 1
Chelsea emerge from their first major test of the season unscathed but their winning streak was broken by a late strike from, of all people, Frank Lampard.
5 October: Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
The two managers come to blows on the touchline but Jose Mourinho maintains his dominance over Arsene Wenger on the field in a convincing and comfortable win - sealed by another Costa goal.
18 October: Crystal Palace 1 Chelsea 2
A psychological boost. Defeat at Selhurst Park ended the club’s title aspirations in 2013/14, but victory there this season took them five points clear at the top.
26 October: Man Utd 1 Chelsea 1
More frustration in Manchester. Branislav Ivanovic saw red late on and from the resulting free-kick, Robin van Persie lashed home a stoppage-time equaliser to deny Chelsea all three points.
8 November: Liverpool 1 Chelsea 2
Despite falling behind early on, Diego Costa’s winner saw the Blues emerge from Merseyside victorious. Gary Cahill was fortunate to not concede a late penalty after handling on the line.
29 November: Sunderland 0 Chelsea 0
Chelsea drop points against a team outside the top four and fail to score for the first time this season against former player Gus Poyet’s disciplined and determined Sunderland side.
3 December: Chelsea 3 Tottenham 0
A win inspired by Didier Drogba, who recaptures his form of old by setting up Eden Hazard’s opener and then finding the net himself. Victory stretched unbeaten run to 23 games in all competitions, equalling a club record.
6 December: Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1
The club’s aspirations of an invincible season go up in smoke a few days later as a Papiss Cisse brace consigns them to their first defeat of the season. The loss allowed Manchester City to cut the gap at the top to three points.
29 December: Southampton 1 Chelsea 1
The start of the infamous “campaign against Chelsea”. Jose Mourinho describes match official Anthony Taylor’s performance as a “scandal” and was later fined £25,000 for his comments regarding a referee conspiracy.
1 January: Tottenham 5 Chelsea 3
With Harry Kane’s stock on the rise, Chelsea faltered. They were destroyed by the young striker and, following the manic result, so was their lead at the top of the table. Only alphabetical order separated them from second-place Manchester City.
17 January: Swansea 0 Chelsea 5
A performance of champions, as the Blues begin to pull away from the chasing pack. Oscar and Diego Costa fill their boots, grabbing two goals each before the soon-to-depart Andre Schurrle adds a fifth.
30 January: Costa banned for three games after stamp on Can
After Chelsea’s 2-1 aggregate victory over Liverpool in Capital One Cup, FA slap a retrospective ban on Diego Costa for a nasty stamp on Emre Can. He misses three Premier League fixtures, but Chelsea’s strength in depth prevails as they win seven points out of nine.
31 January: Chelsea 1 Man City 1
Chelsea maintain five-point lead at the top of the table with a dull stalemate. Loïc Rémy opens the scoring in Costa’s absence, before Mourinho replaces him with Gary Cahill.
2 February: Juan Cuadrado signs
Wolfsburg-bound André Schürrle is replaced with Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado, in a deal which sees Mohamed Salah move the other way. He makes a rather inauspicious start to life at Stamford Bridge, but is promised time.
21 February: Chelsea 1 Burnley 1
On the same day that Man City annihilate Newcastle 5-0, Chelsea offer them some hope after Ben Mee grabs a late equaliser. Matic is sent off and banned for retaliating to Ashley Barnes’ studs-up lunge.
2 March: Capital One Cup winTottenham are successfully held at arm’s length for 90 minutes as Jose Mourinho wins his first trophy since returning to the Bridge without having to break a sweat.
11 March: Champions League: knocked out by PSG
The biggest disappointment of the season. Chelsea rue their conservatism as they gift PSG - and goalscoring David Luiz - a route to the quarter-finals.
15 March: Southampton 1 Chelsea 1
A Dustin Tadic penalty cancels out Costa’s headed opener, his 17th goal of the season. It's the faintest glimmer of hope for chasing Manchester City.
22 March: Hull 2 Chelsea 3
Despite throwing away an early two-goal advantage, Remy scores late on to return Chelsea to winning ways. Which no doubt pleases Thibaut Courtois, who gifted Hull a comic equaliser.
4 April: Diego Costa hamstring injury
Costa picks up recurrence of a muscular injury against Stoke, leaving Chelsea with a strikers crisis.
12 April: QPR 0 Chelsea 1
Arsenal’s hope of stealing the title suffer mortal blow when Cesc Fàbregas, complete with knock-off Batman mask, strikes late to sink QPR. Chelsea have only one shot on goal to QPR’s 15: a different team entirely to the beginning of the season. Boring, even?
26 April: ‘Boring Boring Chelsea’ war of words
The last time Chelsea won by more than one goal was back in January, and soon every man and his dog are debating whether they’re a boring team or not. Wenger seems to think so, as do the Emirates crowd who sing ‘boring, boring Chelsea’. “Ten years without a title: that’s very boring”, a mischievous Mourinho retorts.
26 April: Eden Hazard win PFA Player of the Year
Amongst the furore of ‘boregate’, it’s easy to forget the thrilling football that won Chelsea their comfortable position atop the table in the first place. Hazard consistently proved himself as the club’s brightest star, capping off a season of increased maturity and productivity with the PFA Award.
28 April: Drogba videoDidier Drogba proves once and for all that people should think twice before deriding Chelsea as boring, by posting a video of half the squad thrillingly heading a football into a bin.
30 April: Leicester 1 Chelsea 3
An unstoppage second-half performance sees Mourinho's side fightback from a goal down to move to within three points of their first title since 2010.
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