Speaking ahead of Chelsea FC’s clash with Manchester United this evening, Blues boss Jose Mourinho has denied that his team have had an easy ride this season, no matter how big the gap is at the top of the table.
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With a seven point lead and a game in hand over the nearest challenger, Chelsea have already been all but awarded the Premier League crown. While the title race was shaping up to be an exciting two-way duel as the new year came, the capitulation of Manchester City and a non-existent threat from any other club have allowed the West London team to cruise through the last parts of the campaign.
Cruise is the right word too. The Blues have not been at their best since the turn of the year, dropping points here and there against the likes of Burnley and narrowly beating teams like QPR and Aston Villa. However, according to Mourinho, this is exactly why it has been so difficult.
Chelsea’s dominance has been largely the result of a lack of quality from fellow title contenders
“The difficulty of every game is amazing. In the last eight or nine games we haven’t won one game by two goals,” Mourinho told collected journalists, “It was 1-0 against QPR, 3-2 at Hull, 2-1 against Aston Villa, 1-1 against Southampton, 1-1 against Burnley, 1-1 against Man City. The last time we won by more than one goal was at Swansea, and we are speaking about a game in January.”
Furthermore, he claimed that all the clubs have stepped up a gear stating that “teams fighting for the title and Champions League have raised their level, which means teams fighting not to be relegated have also raised their level.”
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With a bit of imagination you can partly see where the boss is coming from. Chelsea have indeed found it tricky in places and it is not hard to see that the club’s dominance has been largely the result of a lack of quality from fellow title contenders.
However, the above statement completely also contradicts the notion that other clubs have raised their game. The League has been poor this season, as evidenced by the lack of English teams in the latter stages of either of the two European competitions. Why teams at the top have found it so difficult is due to them getting worse, not lower-half teams getting better.
Nevertheless, winning the Premier League is still winning the Premier League so it’s hard to disagree with Jose when he states:
“I just want to be champion.”
On to this evening then.