Don't panic! Why Chelsea still have little to fear as title race hots up
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Published 17/04/2017 at 08:34 GMT
Chelsea stumbled at Manchester United on Sunday, but as Dan Levene explains, they still hold all the aces in a resurgent title race.
Kurt Zouma of Chelsea and David Luiz of Chelsea are dejected
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And so the unthinkable happened. Dozy drawing specialists in mediocrity Manchester United took champions elect Chelsea to the cleaners. Hand the title to Tottenham - it's all over. Except that it wasn't unthinkable at all. And it isn't a disaster for the side still four points clear of the chasing pack.
For Antonio Conte, it looked like he'd lost an aunt: so personally does he take each and every defeat, that it is almost appropriate that he enters these press conferences in funereal black. But that period of mourning really was no more grief-stricken than any other he has publicly suffered this season. And Conte knows a thing or two about 'suffering' – he tells us about his teams suffering each and every week.
Conte knew his side was well beaten: he told us they deserved defeat. Moments earlier, his opposite number had explained how he had undone Conte.
Jose Mourinho, sometimes unfairly characterised as a tactical wrecking ball, got this one just right: man mark Eden Hazard and Pedro out of the game, and take the oxygen of space away from the wing-backs. It was a legitimate tactical gambit, and it worked, with the added pace of Marcus Rashford causing merry hell periodically.
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Jose Mourinho manager of Manchester United signals as Antonio Conte manager of Chelsea looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on April 16, 2017 in Manchester, England
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Chelsea, truth be told, seemed to start with a form of psychological disadvantage here. Their settled XI is so finely formed that each time one of the band of brothers is absent, there seems to be additional suffering.
Here it was Marcos Alonso, who suffered an overnight illness, and Thibaut Courtois - the precise reasons for whose suffering may end up being a point to generate quite some column inches in coming days. Arguably, you could add Diego Costa to that list: present in physical form, but very little else.
So this was Chelsea going into their toughest remaining game with three men down, and against a manager for whom this was his cup final. If you think that final point is unkind, Mourinho did actually say as much, using the afterglow of one of his new side's best wins to grumble about the injustice of missing out on a walk down Wembley Way against Tottenham next Saturday evening.
But, returning to the initial premise here: this wasn't unthinkable for Chelsea, and it is not disastrous.
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Marcus Rashford of Manchester United celebrates scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford on April 16, 2017 in Manchester, England
Image credit: Getty Images
It would be utterly illogical to suggest this was part of the plan: Conte's demeanour could not be clearer, he wants to win every game. He went to Old Trafford with a plan to win, which sadly for Chelsea, came to nought. But he could afford not to win, something forgotten by those presently awarding the title to Spurs.
So conditioned are we, largely by broadcasters looking to sell a product, that it is all about the run-in; the narrative, the momentum, the soap opera special. But titles are won over 38 games, and Chelsea have put in one hell of a shift already. From six remaining games, Conte's side need 15 points. Or, and this bit is key, they need the points they gain, plus those Tottenham drop, to equal 15. Win it by a point, or 10, and it is still won.
Defeat at Old Trafford is no disaster, but it is a warning: Chelsea's nine lives - or two and a draw to be more accurate - are depleted. There is the breathing space to lose another, and possibly more depending on Tottenham's own run-in – though nobody at Chelsea will want that to happen.
The unthinkable never really was unthinkable. What would be unthinkable now, though, would be to choke.
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