Chelsea essentially clinched the Premier League title once Tottenham Hotspur fell at West Ham United last Friday night. The comments of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino seemed to imply concession. Today, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said that his side has taken a big step towards clinching the club’s sixth league title (fifth in the Premier era).
Monday saw Conte’s Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 3-0 in a very lopsided defeat that was of major consequence for the opposition as well.
The Boro got officially relegated, and Chelsea put themselves in a position now to win the league title by simply taking all three points at West Bromwich Albion Friday night.
“I think this was important for us after the Tottenham defeat, the chance to take three points and make the gap seven points, it was very important to win,” Antonio Conte said in his postgame interview.
“Honestly this is a big step because now there are three games and we need to win one to win the title. It is big and this is our answer to Tottenham because they won nine games and lost only one in their last 10 games. In this situation we showed a great will and desire to win the title. Now we are very close but we need to take another step.”
“It’s important to win it ourselves, we have the possibility to win it and not wait for the Tottenham result. We must focus and prepare well and West Brom away won’t be easy, but we are in a good moment and with concentration and a good attitude we will try to win.”
Once Antonio Conte switched his formation to a 3-4-3, Chelsea went on a tear and never looked back. Their historical winning streak and long undefeated stretches gave them such a commanding lead at the top of the table that they are champions-elect.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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