Tottenham title race over with Chelsea triumphant
By Ryan Wrenn
A win over West Brom on Friday sealed what felt like a certainly since Tottenham’s loss to West Ham last weekend: Chelsea are Premier League champions.
The news will come as a gut punch to many Tottenham fans, even if the north London club only ever had an outside chance of closing the gap to the Blues.
That Spurs came so close and caused Antonio Conte and his side so much anxiety is a triumph all on its own however, even if it doesn’t come with any silverware.
In the midst of Chelsea’s 13 match unbeaten run that stretched around the turn of the year, it seemed all but certain that they would go on to win the title. Their primary competition simply didn’t look up to the task of closing in on Conte’s side.
Though Pep Guardiola began his tenure at Manchester City in imperious form, the momentum dried up by the festive period. Arsenal also stumbled in December, while Jose Mourinho’s first season at Manchester United experienced its own growing pains. Liverpool enjoyed a remarkable first half of the season, but even they trailed Chelsea by five points at the start of January.
Tottenham, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten through their November meeting with Chelsea, where they succumbed in a 2-1 loss. More positive results prior to that and through the busy festive period thrust them into reach of the Champions League by the time they met the Blues again on January 4th.
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They would win that meeting 2-0, snapping Chelsea’s win streak and making them once again appear mortal. Spurs would continue on their tear, matching Chelsea blow for blow through the end of winter and beginning of spring.
When Conte’s side fell in losses to Crystal Palace and Manchester United, their presumptive title seemed in serious jeopardy. Only Spurs own stumble at London Stadium a week ago Friday eased their nerves.
It helps to take all of this in a wider context. Chelsea won this title through the talents of Conte, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and David Luiz, yes, but there were other factors working in their favor.
Their disastrous 2015/16 season saw them finish 10th, well outside European qualification. That meant that one of the strongest sides in the Premier League came into this season with virtually no midweek commitments, and hence no real reason to rotate out their best players.
Conte understood this advantage well. He made a total of 38 changes coming into Friday’s match, far less than any of his rivals who were obliged to rest players in between Champions League or Europa League commitments.
Thanks to an uncrowded schedule and an abundance of good luck, Conte also didn’t have to deal with any serious injuries this season. Spurs, in contrast, lost all of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose, Érik Lamela and Harry Kane for sustained stretches.
Make no mistake though, none of these excuses should be confused as criticizing Chelsea or Conte’s work there. They are a great team, with several of the best players in the league, and Conte proved himself once again to be one of the best coaches in the game. Their title is richly deserved.
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The truer test of their greatness will come next season, with both the weight of expectation and Champions League fixtures to worry about. Spurs will be more anxious than ever to avoid losing out on the title so late in the season again, and they will punish any missteps Conte makes in rotating his squad to compete on multiple fronts.