Chelsea and Tottenham battling new expectations in final weeks of Premier League season
Chelsea have led the Premier League since November, but with six games remaining their margin is its smallest since the fall. They are now in a battle with expectations thrust upon them by their surprise success.
Chelsea’s six-month spell atop the Premier League is the most understated surprise of the Premier League season. Leicester City’s return to the lower-third of the table restored normalcy to the top six. But Chelsea, coming off a 10th place finish, were not supposed to be contending for a title in Antonio Conte’s first year.
The Blues are now eye-to-eye with Tottenham Hotspur for the Premier League title. The four points that separate the two teams unduly minimizes the gulf in quality and momentum. Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United all have advantages that Chelsea lack. But Chelsea has the cushion from a 13-game win streak, which painted over many of those deficiencies.
"We have forgotten about the bit where Chelsea are not supposed to be leading the Premier League. At the start of the season, most realistic fans were thinking ‘top four, get Champions League football, bring players in.’ That’s still the level of our squad: a top four squad. – Ajitesh Rasgotra, The Blue Lions"
Chelsea’s dominance from October through January scattered everyone’s expectations. Antonio Conte displaced Pep Guardiola as the league’s top tactician. The 3-4-3 cast in desperation after the loss at Arsenal became the bell-weather of revolution in Premier League formations. And Chelsea’s ambition to secure a Champions League berth was suddenly too small, too pedestrian… too Spursy.
The Blues are now living a brutal reality check. They are playing to expectations – September’s expectations. They are struggling to hold on to the fruits of overachievement, while their arch-rivals challenge for what is more rightfully theirs.
"The new expectation now – because you’ve been first for so long – is that you can’t drop out of first. You can’t. – Travis Tyler"
Compounding the difficulties for Chelsea and their fans is Mauricio Pochettino’s culture shift at Tottenham. Pochettino has done more than assemble a top squad and extract the best individual and team performances. He has turned Tottenham into a club that believes they can win. And because of his abilities as a football manager as well as a motivator, they can.
Tottenham no longer hope to win a few games against top teams and nab a spot in Europe. Their fans no longer fear St. Totteringham Day, or any other late-season collapse. Tottenham fans have re-calibrated their expectations to meet Mauricio Pochettino’s. Chelsea fans must do the same. The Blues cannot count on the Spurs to uphold their end of the historic bargain.
Next: Participation trophies: Chelsea player ratings in loss to Manchester United
On the basis of last season, their rosters and their managers’ experience, Tottenham by all rights should finish this season ahead. Chelsea have over-achieved to get this far. That will make the title that much sweeter if Chelsea hang on. But if they fall, fairness demands we remember that this is the same team that started the season with hopes of the top four.