Five reasons why Chelsea won Premier League title

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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 win

Tottenham 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 video

Didier 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.

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk

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Blues win title as Man City eye UCL

---

03 May 2015, 19:36

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Chelsea won the Premier League title on Sunday as former champions Manchester City strengthened their bid for direct entry into next season's Champions League.

Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in front of their own fans at Stamford Bridge to give the Blues an unassailable lead at the top of the table with three games to spare.

On the stroke of halftime, Hazard's poorly-struck penalty was saved by Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni only for the Belgian star to head in the rebound.

"Every title is a consequence of hard work and a reason to be happy and proud," said Blues manager Jose Mourinho, who has now won three league titles with Chelsea after previous successes in 2005 and 2006 during his first stint.

By the time second-placed City kicked off across London, away to Tottenham Hotspur, they knew they had been deposed as champions.

However, Manuel Pellegrini's men still had something more than pride to play for as while the top four clubs at the end of the season qualify for the Champions League, only the top three go straight into the tournament, with the fourth-placed side having to enter a qualifying round.

City started the day level on points with third-placed Arsenal and two in front of Manchester United, whose shock 1-0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion revived fifth-placed Liverpool's seemingly ailing bid for Champions League football.

Sergio Aguero cemented his position as the Premier League's top-scorer this season by firing in the only goal of the game as City won 1-0 at White Hart Lane.

Aguero's 22nd top-flight goal this term came just before the half-hour mark when, after good work by David Silva, he finished off a rapid counter-attack with a blistering shot into the top corner.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart preserved City's lead with several fine saves as Spurs remained sixth.

"Sergio can always get us a goal, we managed to get the ball up to him and then we've defended for our lives," Hart told Sky Sports.

"Congrats to Chelsea on winning the title, it is well deserved. To lead from the front and stay there – we've done that before and it's difficult – is impressive. But they know we will be back stronger next season."

Frustrated Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said: "I feel proud of our players. The performance was very good and we deserved much more."

City's win left them 13 points behind Chelsea, with only a maximum of nine on offer to Pellegrini's side in their three remaining league games.

Meanwhile Arsenal will kick-off away to Hull on Monday 16 points adrift of Chelsea, with only 15 more available to Arsene Wenger's men.

Source : supersport[dot]com

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Alan Pardew says José Mourinho's back five was Chelsea's key to Premier League win

Alan Pardew congratulates José Mourinho after his third Premier League title. (Getty Images)

Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has claimed that Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool will need to "find a way to unlock the Chelsea back five" next season if they wan to beat the Blues for the Premier League title.

The Blues secured their fifth Premier League trophy on Sunday 3 May after beating the Eagles 1-0 thanks to Eden Hazard's rebounded penalty before half-time.

Pardew believes Mourinho's side deserve the title more than any other Premier League team not just because the talent of Player of the Year Hazard but especially because of their defence.

Asked after the game how the Premier League top team can beat the Blues next season, the manager said: "You need to find a way to unlock their back five, with the goalkeeper included.

"It is very difficult to score goals against them."

The manager believes that the Blues were amazing during the first part of the campaign while manage to finish the job in a more pragmatic second part of the season.

"They've had two defeats this year and that says it all. I don't think anyone moaned about their play in the first half of the season. Sometimes fantasy and flair go out of the way to win and they've done that in the second half of the season. That's why this guy [Mourinho] earns so much money, to win trophies.

"It will have to be a very good side to top this team next year. I'm sure Jose will add more depth in the summer as well."

Meanwhile, Pardew also hails the importance of Mourinho after the Blues conquered his third Premier League title, having won further two during his first spell at West London.

"That's why he (Mourinho) earns the money he does. He wins. He wins trophies and he will win them in any manner he thinks is right for that particular occasion.

"It will have to be a very good side that tops this team next year and I'm sure José will add to his depth as well."

Source : ibtimes[dot]co[dot]uk

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Manchester United vs West Brom: Five things we learned

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United's squad lacks depth

United have shown when defeating Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal this season that their strongest team can be a match for the best, but injuries have highlighted the lack of depth in Louis van Gaal’s squad.

There is no obvious replacement for Michael Carrick, no experienced cover at centre-back and a worrying absence of quality at right-back, where former winger Antonio Valencia has been forced to do a job all season.

The defeats at Chelsea and Everton exposed the holes in the United squad and, even if they qualify for the Champions League, it is clear that at least four quality signings must arrive this summer to plug the gaps.

Van Persie benefitting from reserve team action

With United having no European commitments this season, Louis van Gaal has regularly fielded first-team stars in the reserves in order to accelerate their return to fitness following injury and Robin van Persie appears to have benefited from his two recent games in the second string.

^{Robin van Persie scores for the United reserves against Fulham last week}

Started his first game since suffering an ankle injury against Swansea in February, Van Persie looked sharp and hungry as he led the line for Van Gaal’s team.

The Dutchman has struggled for form when fit this season, but the injury and gradual return to action in the reserves may have sparked him back to life.

Carrick proving to be United's most important player

In the match programme for this game, Michael Carrick’s importance to the team was borne out by a statistical analysis which showed that United win 71 per cent of games with the England midfielder and a mere 43 per cent of fixtures without him.

^{Michael Carrick missed Saturday's match and was missed by United}

Carrick missed this game though, just as he missed the recent defeats at Chelsea and Everton, and his absence was felt with the lack of drive and forward thinking in the centre of the pitch.

The 33-year-old’s value to Louis van Gaal becomes more evident with every game he misses because neither Ander Herrera or Daley Blind possess Carrick’s qualities.

United need to work on their penalties

With Robin van Persie having his second-half penalty saved by Boaz Myhill, United’s penalty misery this season continued.

^{Van Persie, like Wayne Rooney at Anfield, missed from the penalty spot on Saturday}

Van Persie only stepped up for the spot-kick because Wayne Rooney had missed United’s last penalty during the 2-1 win at Liverpool in March.

Both players have endured a mixed record from the penalty spot in recent times at United, with neither showing the consistency that the likes of Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Denis Irwin and Ruud van Nistelrooy displayed at Old Trafford.

Who knows how costly Van Persie’s miss may prove to be?

Di Maria proves that reputation cannot guarantee confidence

Angel di Maria’s contribution as a second-half substitute was another huge letdown from the British record £59.7m signing.

The Argentine’s distribution was wayward and costly, with too many opportunities wasted by his poor decision making.

It is clear that the former Real Madrid winger’s confidence is on the floor, but it would have been given a timely boost if his injury-time long range had not been tipped iver by Boaz Myhill.

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk

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Tony Pulis reveals he went 'mad' at West Brom players for checking scores before victory at Manchester United

West Brom manager Tony Pulis praised the resilience and discipline of his side after they produced an unlikely 1-0 victory at Manchester United to allay their relegation fears.

The Baggies survived an onslaught at Old Trafford, striking in the second half courteous of Jonas Olsson’s deflected strike and Boaz Myhill’s brilliant penalty save to deny Robin van Persie.

The victory moves Albion up to the traditional ‘magic’ 40 point mark, and Pulis believes a combination of grit and luck was conducive to only their fourth away win of the season.

“We’ve worked very hard this week and the lads were very resilient, everybody through the team played their part,” said the former Stoke and Crystal Palace boss.

“Saying all of that, you need a little bit of good fortune when you come to these grounds and we had that today. The players they brought on were on a different planet to what we are.”

The victory could prove pivotal given the Baggies’ closets relegation rivals all won earlier in the day, and Pulis revealed he was unhappy with his players who were keeping close tabs on scorelines elsewhere.

“I didn’t know the results before the game. The lads had the radio on and I went mad before the game because they shouldn’t be doing that,” said the 57-year-old.

“You just need them to concentrate on the game and on what you can affect, not other teams’ results.”

audio_title: 

Listen again to the full interview with Tony Pulis

Source : talksport[dot]com

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Barclays Premier League live: Manchester United v West Brom

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1730 BST: Manchester United v West Brom

West Brom travel to Old Trafford looking to inflict a third successive Premier League defeat on Manchester United. (Getty Images)

Now 17:35

A reminder that West Brom won 2-1 on their last visit to Old Trafford in September 2013, with goals from Morgan Amalfitano and Saido Berahino.

Manchester United won the return fixture 3-0, however, and drew 2-2 at The Hawthorns in October having trailed 2-1 with just three minutes remaining. 

4 min 17:31

Anthony Taylor blows his whistle and we are underway.  

27 min 17:08

West Brom show two alterations from the team who held Liverpool to a goalless draw at The Hawthorns on 25 April.

Jonas Olsson and Youssouf Mulumbu are in for James Morrison and Victor Anichebe. Darren Fletcher starts against a team for whom he made over 200 Premier League appearances during a 12-year stint.

31 min 17:04

So, Robin van Persie starts under Louis van Gaal for the first time since sustaining an ankle injury during the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Swansea on 21 February.

The unlucky Luke Shaw drops out of the lineup altogether with a groin problem, so Daley Blind will fill in at left-back.

Wayne Rooney is expected to drop deeper once more in the absence of Michael Carrick while Paddy McNair continues to partner Chris Smalling at centre-back.

Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao are on the bench for Manchester United, as is young Belgian midfielder Andreas Pereira following his decision to extend his contract at Old Trafford until at least June 2018.

51 min 16:44

Manchester United: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Blind, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, Rooney, Van Persie

Subs: Valdes, Blackett, Jones, Di Maria, Januzaj, Pereira, Falcao

West Brom: Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Lescott, Brunt, Yacob, Gardner, Mulumbu, Fletcher, Berahino

Subs: Rose, Wisdom, Baird, Sessegnon, McManaman, Ideye, Anichebe

58 min 16:37

Good evening and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of the final Premier League fixture of the day between Manchester United and West Brom at Old Trafford.

The hosts are looking to avoid a third consecutive defeat after disappointing results against Chelsea and Everton respectively while Tony Pulis' side will look to ensure they are not left looking nervously over their shoulders towards the relegation zone with just four games of the season left to play.

Breaking team news and live updates to follow....

Source : ibtimes[dot]co[dot]uk

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Chelsea news: Jose Mourinho says it's the memories that matter, not silverware

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Jose Mourinho does not have a trophy room. Instead, the replicas of the silverware he has made are strewn across not just different rooms but also different houses.

Given that Mourinho is on the brink of securing his 22nd trophy as a manager, with Chelsea able to wrap up the Premier League title with victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, it is a good job the 52-year-old has houses in England and Portugal.

_{Jose Mourinho is not concerned where his old trophies are}

The replica trophies offer a physical reminder of his achievements, but Mourinho prefers the memory of each triumph.

Should Chelsea complete the job against Palace, then Mourinho expects to have the five-minute flashbacks at around 3.30pm on Sunday afternoon. But once the initial elation has passed, he will go home as normal and start thinking about the next target.

Chelsea would not be awarded the Premier League trophy until after their final game of the season against Sunderland and the replica that Mourinho has made will end up in one of his spare rooms.

“The meaning is the important thing,” said Mourinho. “The feeling, the emotion, is what stays forever. I have replicas of every cup I won and I don’t care about the replicas or the medals.

“They’re in my houses. I have some in Portugal, some here, some in my son’s room. I really don’t care. What stays forever is the feeling, the emotion, the memory of the moment. I have clear in my head every one of these moments I lived.”

Asked to try to describe the immediate feeling he experiences once another trophy is secure, Mourinho said: “Normally it’s a flash. The moment finishes, the final or the game that gives you the league, and you have like a flash of the people you love most, the people who are with you, a little bit of the most important moments that lead to that trophy. It’s like a quick flash. And, with me, five minutes later, move on.

_{The Portuguese manager lives for the feeling of winning titles}

“The basic thing about football, the most pure feeling, you want to win. It doesn’t depend on the level you are. To be champions in the Premier League is not a different feeling to being champions in the Championship, in League One, League Two or the Conference.

“The happiness, also the frustrations. Everyone has his level, but in terms of human feelings, they’re exactly the same.”

With the title not yet confirmed and the trophy presentation having to wait, Mourinho has no special plans for Sunday night if his team are confirmed as champions.

“I think I’ll go home,” he said. “In this moment, we have nothing, as you can imagine, prepared and nothing organised. So, normally, I finish the game and go home.

“I’ll speak with the same people as always. My family is with me all the time, for good, for bad. I share the good, I share the bad. A few friends, some more important than others. Normally, the most important ones are those who worked with me for more than 10 years. We are together for good and bad.

_{Chelsea are just one victory away from winning the Premier League}

“Obviously at home it will be a different night, not just one more day at home. I’m waiting for that moment. But I have to think about next season as well.”

Chelsea have been top of the Premier League table for the entire season and played some superb football during the first half of the campaign, but it is the past month that Mourinho has enjoyed most.

The Blues have had to fight for victories against Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers, Manchester United and Leicester City, and for a draw at Arsenal, but Mourinho insists his players have not been feeling the pressure and that he does not get nervous.

• Diego Costa could miss rest of the season
• Didier Drogba may leave for MLS this summer

“When it goes to the countdown, I like the feeling that we have to force it,” said Mourinho.

“We can’t wait for it. I like the feeling of the last month: come on, let’s go, we need four victories, three victories, two. I like this feeling of being almost there, but not there. I like this. I like this last push, I’m never nervous.

“I prefer it because it depends on you. When people sometimes say ‘It’s yours to lose, you’re under pressure’. We are not under pressure. The pressure is on the teams who have to win and wait for us to lose.

_{Eden Hazard has been Chelsea's best player this season}

“It happened a bit to us last season. We were winning and winning, but we had to wait for the others to drop points.

“This season, basically since March when we recovered the distance we’d lost in December, the problem was for the others.

“They had to win. Some of them had fantastic runs. Manchester United had consecutive victories, Arsenal too, but they couldn’t close the gap. This is the real pressure.

Did you know Telegraph Sport has a Chelsea Facebook page?

“For us, it was just about us. Nothing else matters. Just us. This weekend we don’t care about Hull City v Arsenal, or United v West Brom. It’s just about us. This is the feeling I like. Not to be depending on the others.”

Mourinho rejects any suggestion that Chelsea’s run to the title has been aided by the failure of their rivals and claimed there would not be a sense of personal relief at winning his first league title since 2012 with Real Madrid.

“Two seasons without a title,” said Mourinho. “Well, I don’t think it’s normal to win a title every season unless you choose one of the countries and clubs where even the kit man as manager wins it. Here, it’s difficult. I choose a difficult one.”

Mourinho, the former translator, will soon have another memory to cherish and a new replica trophy to lose in one of his houses.

Source : telegraph[dot]co[dot]uk

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