Chelsea became the English Premier League champions of 2016-17 with two games to spare, after they edged out West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Friday evening.
Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to hit the winner in the 82nd minute to give manager Antonio Conte his first Premier League title in his first season as manager of the Blues.
The victory, Chelsea’s 28th of the season, put the long-time league leaders 10 points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have only three games left to play.
Conte is only the fourth manager to win the Premier League title at the first attempt. Before him, Jose Mourinho in 2004-05 and Carlo Ancelotti in 2009-10 triumphed at Stamford Bridge while Manuel Pellegrini achieved the feat with Manchester City.
CHELSEA ARE PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS! ?#ChelseaChampions pic.twitter.com/p2fAy8NFz1
— CHAMPIONS! ? (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2017
And Conte became the fourth Italian after Achelotti, Roberto Manchini and Claudio Ranieri to win the Premier League title – a year after Ranieri inspired Leicester City to their incredible triumph.
‘I want to say thanks to our fans because they pushed a lot in every game, home and away. They deserve this.’ https://t.co/xyqONJHXA2
— CHAMPIONS! ? (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2017
Conte, who won three consecutive titles as Juventus manager before briefly taking over the Italian national team, danced for joy with his players in front of Chelsea’s travelling fans as the final whistle blew on a tense night in the Midlands.
ALSO READ: Conte Won’t Mind Being Thrown In Ice Bath Again If Chelsea Win Title At West Brom
“I think this achievement is a great achievement for the players, for my players,” Conte said before his players dunked him champagne inside the dressing room.
“And I have to tell thanks for their commitment for their work-rate. This season they show me great attitude, great patience, great will, great desire to try to do something great in this season. And now after this win we must be happy. We must be pleased for all this season.”
WELCOME TO THE ROMAN EMPIRE
‘YOU’VE GOT THE POWER TO KNOW…’ ?#ChelseaChampions ? pic.twitter.com/hcpm1EgQ32
— CHAMPIONS! ? (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2017
Chelsea is now England’s Most Successful Club Since Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich Took Over In 2003. With 14 trophies in their cabinet, including 5 Premier League, 4 FA Cup, 3 League Cup, 1 Champions League and 1 Europa Cup, the blues are building a formidable trophies cabinet only matched by Manchester United.
ROAD TO BECOMING PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS IN 2016-17
Chelsea have won 28 of its 36 games, including nine of its last 11 matches. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a club that finished 10th in the league last season in the worst-ever Premier League title defence.
Games: 36
Points: 87
Wins: 28
Goals: 76
Conceded: 29
THE ‘BELGIAN’ DELIGHT
Chelsea players were being frustrated by a stubborn West Brom defending deep and in numbers, so Conte decided to take off Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez and bring on Batshuayi and Willian.
Six minutes later, the Belgium striker was scoring the biggest goal of his career and being mobbed by teammates in front of Chelsea’s jubilant visiting fans.
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It was only Batshuayi’s second league goal, and first since August.
“The beauty of football,” Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas said, “a player who didn’t play a lot scores the winning goal for the championship.”
BATTLE OF THE GALACTICOS
Associated Press reports that the first year of the “super coach” era in the Premier League, where the most sought after coaches in modern football like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jungen Klopp have gathered in almost an enactment of the Roman Galacticos inside the Colosseum, belongs fittingly to the Italian Conte.
Chelsea was in eighth place after six games following losses to Liverpool and Arsenal, but a switch of formation from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 — the system favored by Conte — returned stunning results. Chelsea won the next 13 matches, laying the foundations for an eventual title triumph.
Animated and often uncontrollable in his technical area during matches, Conte is clearly a lucid thinker about the game. He has quickly become a favorite with Chelsea’s fans because of his obvious passion. There’s also been no sign of the dressing-room discord that sparked the abrupt end of Jose Mourinho’s second spell in charge.
A title-winner in two countries now, there’s an argument for calling him one of the most sought-after coaches in world soccer.
IMPACT PLAYERS
We did it all together! The title means so much to me. Thx to the fans, thx to my mates, thx to @ChelseaFC Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/PFwrWlYlNM
— N’Golo Kanté (@nglkante) May 13, 2017
If recruiting N’Golo Kante from Leicester was a no-brainer, bringing in David Luiz looked fraught with danger. And playing David Moses, the man who looked destined to become a loanee forever, on the wings was a masterstroke.
Kante has bestrode the midfield, breaking up opposition attacks with his perfect anticipation and positional skills and then starting Chelsea’s own with his vision and directness. It came as no surprise that he was voted English soccer’s player of the year by both his fellow professionals and the country’s soccer writers. Kanté became the 1st ever player to win back to back Premier League titles for different clubs
Luiz left Chelsea for Paris Saint-Germain in 2014 for 50 million euros (then $57 million), making him the world’s most expensive defender even though many pundits said he couldn’t really defend. He has returned a completely new player, eliminating the mistakes and lapses in concentration for which he was often ridiculed.
Playing as the libero at the heart of Chelsea’s three-man defense has suited his game, leaving him free to act more as a sweeper than a touch-tight marker.
“Consistently we have been the best team in the league,” Chelsea defender Gary Cahill said. “There is no better feeling in football. People have written us off as a team and individually and this has shut them up.”
Chelsea have also reached the final of the FA Cup, where it will play Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on May 27.