Coming in to the match against West Ham, Chelsea FC are five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with a match in hand. The Blues currently have 60 points compared to City’s 55 and have 12 more matches to play. Jose Mourinho believes that Chelsea FC needs exactly 31 points out of a possible 36 in order to win the Premier League.
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91 points would have been enough to win the league comfortably last season as Manchester City captured the title with 86 points. In fact the last time a team even reached 91 points was Chelsea FC when they won the league in 2005-06 and boasted a goal difference of +50 so Jose Mourinho is certainly on to something.
The logic behind his thinking is based on if Manchester City are able to earn maximum points from their next 11 matches, giving them a total of 88 points on the season. So technically Chelsea FC only needs another 29 points to win it all but a few extra points never hurt anyone. He is also talking about the numbers from a purely mathematical point of view. It is very possible that both City and Chelsea FC drop points as we move along and this overall goal will be fluid, but 90 points is a good benchmark to aim for.
Jose Mourinho on what Chelsea FC needs to do to win the Premier League:
"“When our direct opponents lose points, it’s good for us. We have five points advantage, which in this competition is not a lot. Mathematics plays a role in all of this – 12 matches to go, 36 points to play, 36 minus five, we need 31 points.”Source: Independent"
To put it more simply, if City were to win every game from here on out, Chelsea FC can afford to lose once and draw twice in their next 12 matches. It is highly unlikely that City will win all of their remaining games considering they have some big dates on their schedule. They still have to face Manchester United at Old Trafford and have two tricky dates with Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton home and away respectively. Knowing City they will win all of these tough matches but will drop points against Leicester City or Aston Villa as they have against Burnley and Hull City this season.
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Chelsea FC has some difficult dates ahead as well and must still play Manchester United, Southampton, Arsenal, and Liverpool in the home stretch of the season. Thankfully only the match against Arsenal is away from home as the Blues have been excellent at home this season, especially in the Premier League.
The situation at the top of the table is very fluid and things can change very quickly but it is important to be able to visualize your goals to help achieve them. Mourinho has put that number in the heads of the Chelsea FC players and they have something concrete to aim for but of course they must also take it one match at a time.