Humiliating Jose Mourinho and pummeling Pep Guardiola : Eight games that made Chelsea Premier League champions

Chelsea sealed the Premier League title with a 1-0 win over West Brom on Friday (Picture: Getty)

Chelsea’s marathon mid-season winning streak which propelled them to another Premier League title blew the competition, bar for a short period Tottenham, away.
To say Antonio Conte’s side have cantered unopposed to the title would be stretching the truth, but they’ve overcome every obstacle encountered and passed several tests of character with flying colours.
Here are the eight games which defined another title-winning campaign…

Chelsea 2-1 West Ham

Diego Costa scored a late winner against West Ham in Chelsea’s first game of the season (Picture: Getty)

It took a late Diego Costa goal to secure an opening day victory which provided some much needed early season momentum following the misery of the previous campaign.
In truth, Chelsea looked just as disjointed and unsure as they had done under Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink with James Collins threatening to spoil Conte’s Stamford Bridge bow with a late equaliser.
The Italian celebrated Costa’s winner by cavorting up and down the touchline and embracing his adoring new fans. Even at that stage we knew life was going to be anything but dull with the Italian on the scene.

Arsenal 3-0 Chelsea

Alexis Sanchez starred against Chelsea during a 3-0 win for Arsenal back in September (Picture: Getty)

A thrashing at the hands of Arsenal represented not only the worst performance of Chelsea’s season but a crucial turning point as well.
Having been torn to shreds by Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, Conte switched to his favoured 3-4-3 formation at half-time and although that particular game was gone, the change in system triggered the record equaling 13-game run.

Chelsea 4-0 Manchester United

Antonio Conte clashed with Jose Mourinho on the Special One’s first return to Stamford Bridge as Manchester United manager (Picture: Getty)

Antonio Conte reveled in a thumping win over Jose Mourinho whose side were overrun, overpowered and outfought.
It was a performance that marked Chelsea out as genuine title contenders and perfectly illustrated how much they had progressed in the short space of time between Mourinho’s demise and Conte’s appointment.
Mourinho’s objection to his successor’s touchline antics only made victory sweeter for anyone of a Chelsea persuasion.

Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham

Victor Moses was the surprise matchwinner when Chelsea ended Tottenham’s unbeaten run (Picture: Getty)

Unbeaten Spurs arrived at Stamford Bridge gunning for revenge having seen their title bid the previous season ended in acrimonious fashion.
The visitors comprehensively outplayed their hosts in the opening stages and held a deserved lead thanks to Christian Eriksen’s long-range blast.
But goals from two of the players Conte had helped transform, Pedro and Victor Moses, turned the game on its head and again underlined Chelsea’s credentials.

Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea

Willian and Diego Costa were both on target in a pivotal win at Manchester City (Picture: Getty)

Probably the game of the season. Both teams contributed to a high-quality encounter, while there was also a snide undercurrent which boiled over late on and resulted in red cards for Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho.
City lost the plot and surrendered momentum in the title race after Conte’s tactical reshuffle saw Cesc Fabregas inspire a second half comeback from which Pep Guardiola’s side never really recovered.

Leicester City 0-3 Chelsea

Pedro starred in Diego Costa’s absence during the convincing win against Leicester (Picture: Getty)

Tottenham offered the chasing pack a glimmer of hope by stalling Conte’s previously relentless winning machine at White Hart Lane.
A trip to the champions in their next league fixture represented a potential banana skin, particularly in light of Diego Costa’s absence amid reports of a bust-up with his manager.
Chelsea, however, made light of their top scorer’s absence and romped to a 3-0 win and crushed any suggestion the Tottenham defeat would spark a collapse.

Stoke 1-2 Chelsea

Gary Cahill has weighed in with some crucial goals this season, including a valuable later winner at Stoke (Picture: Getty)

A visit to the Britannia Stadium is always a test of potential champions and with Tottenham beginning to provide a semblance of competition, Chelsea could ill-afford to offer any encouragement.
A draw looked on the cards, however, until Gary Cahill thumped home a late winner to spark riotous celebrations, particularly in the dugout, which suggested Chelsea themselves knew the title was heading their way.

Everton 0-3 Chelsea

Pedro’s brilliant goal set Chelsea on their way to a crucial win over Everton (Picture: Getty)

Tottenham had closed the gap to four points by the time Chelsea faced their most difficult looking fixture of their run-in.
The Blues exhibited patience, composure and the ruthless streak that has characterised their season, putting Everton to the sword thanks to second half goals from Pedro, Cahill and Willian.