Chelsea FC’s entire season reflected in Tottenham draw

Chelsea FC’s draw against Tottenham was a maddening, exhilarating, tense, ridiculous affair – making it the perfect reflection of a season that is mercifully coming to a close.

Showing why they are defending Premier League champions, Chelsea FC clinched the title on the back of an Eden Hazard goal for the second straight year. Hazard’s 83rd minute first-touch beauty denied arch-rival Tottenham not only their first victory at Stamford Bridge in 26 years, but their first top division championship in 55 years.

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Chelsea also demonstrated perfectly why they were never contenders to repeat as Premier League champions. A shambolic performance by the hosts’ defenders and defensive midfielders nearly extended Tottenham’s title hopes one more week, leaving incoming manager Antonio Conte with plenty to think about as he crafts next year’s roster and transfer activity.

Chelsea’s performance against Tottenham last night was the 2015-2016 campaign in microcosm. Much like the season, the two halves could not have been any more different. The first 45 minutes – we’ll call it the “Mourinho Half” – ranged from embarrassing to farcical, with stops along the way for “pathetic” and “violent.”

Chelsea’s back-line was shredded twice, leaving the Blues’ goal a gaping target for Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. With Azpilicueta playing nearly in the center of the pitch, an angled ball between Azpilicueta and John Terry put Kane behind the Chelsea defenders. Chelsea’s veterans responded immediately by gesturing wildly for off-sides while Gary Cahill made a hopeless slide to try to block the Golden Boot contender.

Son’s goal directly resulted from a botched passing play between Branislav Ivanovic and John Obi-Mikel. The Blues turned the ball over, and Spurs only needed one pass to put the Korean through on goal. Cue another futilely valiant slide by Gary Cahill and Tottenham were up 2-0.

Chelsea’s performance was shaping up to be the quintessence of the Mourinho Half of the season: clumsy at the fundamentals, unaware of the opposition and down at the break.

At the end of last season, the idea that Eden Hazard would not score his first league goal until April was as outlandish as Leicester City winning the title.

The second half was the Hiddink Half. The team that returned to the pitch was the team that went on a 15-game unbeaten streak after the Dutchman assumed the interim reins. Chelsea played aggressively and capitalized on Tottenham’s shaky nerves and weakness on set plays.

After Cahill blasted home the Blues’ opening goal from the middle of the box off a corner kick, Chelsea became their opportunistic best as their opponents’ nerves increasingly frayed.

Most importantly, the Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard of last week’s meaningless game at AFC Bournemouth – and last season’s Premier League campaign – also emerged for the Hiddink Half. Diego Costa’s aggressiveness at striker matched Hazard’s quick feet and guile. As the half went on Chelsea produced the style of play and sense of inevitability that defined last season’s title run.

Last year around this time, Hazard scored to seal the league for the Blues. This year, just when you thought there could not possibly be more narratives to write about Leicester City’s path to the championship, a give-and-go between the Belgian and Costa ended with the former clinching the league – for the Foxes – with an 83rd minute goal.

At the end of last season, the idea that Eden Hazard would not score his first league goal until April was as outlandish as Leicester City winning the title. On New Year’s Day, the idea that Hazard would score three goals in two games – including one of the most important and sumptuous goals of the year – would have sounded just as improbable.

Watching Chelsea has been a maddening experience for their fans this year. The poor record, the uninspired play, the title defense that never was, the various Mourinho dramas, the very real worries about relegation…. All that would have been forgivable, maybe even understandable, if the Blues did not occasionally tease the fans with glimmers of excellence. The last two games Chelsea showed what should have been commonplace for a club with Stamford Bridge’s talent, payroll and trophy case.

Next: Chelsea FC 2-2 Tottenham: 5 things we learned

The Blues’ display Monday night encapsulated in 90 minutes the last nine months of this campaign. The team came full circle by denying a rival and helping out a beloved former manager, putting their stamp on one of the greatest stories

in the history of

in history. Let’s hope Hiddink makes the past the prologue by getting the youngsters on the pitch for the remaining three games to set the stage for the Antonio Conte era.