After 13 straight wins, Chelsea fans can be forgiven some hyperbole as they deal with the loss at Tottenham. Even in defeat, though, the Blues are still five points clear atop the Premier League table.
Antonio Conte is well known for his aversion to losing. He likely did not sleep last night. He may not even have gone back to his flat. Conte may very well have spent the night in his office reviewing the films from Chelsea’s loss to Tottenham. Knowing him, he will probably have fresh coffee ready for when the Cobham staff arrives in the morning.
Conte’s obsession with victory and hatred of defeat makes him single-minded in his pursuit of the former. But it does not diminish his sense of perspective. He would not be a successful manager (or a stable human being) if he could not frame the big picture for himself and his players.
As difficult as this loss was for everyone to stomach, particularly coming against Them, Chelsea are still five points ahead of Liverpool. Chelsea are still in the record-books for a 13-game win streak. Chelsea still lead the Premier League in clean sheets, and have the league’s leading goal-scorer.
"We are disappointed but also we must be pleased for our run as 13 wins in this league is not easy. Today we lost against a good team, a really strong team and don’t forget Tottenham fought last season for the title… My priority is to come back to winning. We are working together only for five months and to see we are on top of the table with the same players as last season, we must be pleased with this. – Chelsea FC"
A large part of the sting in yesterday’s loss is the unfamiliarity of this feeling. The last three months have been full of Conte’s touchline celebrations, post-game hugs with Diego Costa, Eden Hazard’s trickery and N’Golo Kante’s faultless reliability. Chelsea displayed little of that at White Hart Lane.
Instead we saw Diego Costa spar with Pedro. Eden Hazard did his vanishing act, while N’Golo Kante looked disturbingly mortal. Conte had no opportunities to rile the home crowd, and he left the pitch glum.
Chelsea fans should take heart in the strangeness of the whole experience. Last year at this time, it was an all too familiar feeling. The over-the-top outbursts of fans on Twitter, in the pub or during dinner-table banter is just an allergic reaction to defeat.
No one realistically thought the Blues would finish the season without a loss. It is the opponent more than the result that makes the whole thing so tough.
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Antonio Conte will take to the training pitch today focused more on the next win than the last loss. We should do the same.