Chelsea cruised to the Premier League title in Antonio Conte’s first season, but what made them so successful?
Chelsea have had some great seasons in their history. This season can now be added to the list, after the Blues were crowned champions on Friday and are on course to finish with another one of the highest point totals in history. The achievement is all the more remarkable considering the Blues finished 10th last season.
The single biggest reason for the turnaround was the arrival of Antonio Conte in the summer. The Italian made several key changes to alter the culture at Chelsea, dissolving the toxic atmosphere left behind by Jose Mourinho last season.
His most obvious contribution on the pitch has been the introduction of the 3-4-3 formation now seemingly favored by half the mangers in the Premier League, but it’s worth remembering the system was first implemented at halftime of Chelsea’s embarrassing 3-0 loss to Arsenal in September. The record-equalling 13-match winning run that followed ultimately spurred the Blues to the title.
The 3-4-3 had a particularly beneficial impact on Chelsea defense, which was atrocious last season, allowing 53 goals, or 1.39 a match. This season has been the opposite. Chelsea are second in the league with 15 clean sheets and third in the league with 29 goals against.
As well as the formation change, the improvement has owed much to the performances of David Luiz, who returned to Chelsea this summer after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. The Blues were widely ridiculed for signing Luiz, who was deemed positionally suspect, but he’s been exquisite next to Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill in the middle of the back three.
Luiz was not, however, Chelsea’s best summer signing. That honor belongs to N’Golo Kante, who picked up exactly where he left off at Leicester last season, and has now become the first player to win back-to-back Premier League titles with different clubs.
The Frenchmen hasn’t been required to put in the same amount of work for Chelsea as he did for Leicester — partly because of the two sides’ different formations and partly because Chelsea keep the ball more — but his ability to snuff out opposition attacks remains unchanged. He’s been crucial to the Blues’ success all season, especially in matches against other top six sides, and was deserving winner of the PFA Player of the Year Award.
The main difference between the Chelsea of this season and the Chelsea of last season wasn’t Conte, or the formation, or the new signings. The main difference was the fact the core of the squad that won the title in 2014-15 got back to their best.
In particular, the attacking trio of Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Pedro have been in stunning form all season. Hazard has 15 goals and five assists to his name, while Costa has scored an impressive 20 times this season. Pedro’s eight goals and eight assists aren’t quite as impressive, but he’s come up big in some key moments, like away at Everton two weeks ago at the height of Tottenham’s title charge.
Costa experienced a bit of a slump in the middle of the season, but his goals during the 13-match winning streak were vital, and his holdup play always allows Pedro and Hazard room to operate in the attacking third. But Hazard has been the main game changer for Chelsea throughout this title run.
Hazard wasn’t himself last season, for whatever reason, but the Belgian has found his form again under Conte, and Chelsea are reaping the rewards. His scintillating play and excellent dribbling ability have been the difference for the Blues all season, so much so he’s been linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer.
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Chelsea needed to improve a lot after their disastrous 2015-16 campaign. They began at the top, replacing Mourinho with Conte, and the rest fell in place from there. Their defense improved with the signing of Luiz and the switch to the back three, while Hazard returned the attack to its former glory. Perhaps most important was the glue that connected the two pieces, Kante. Chelsea got everything right, and have their second Premier League title in three seasons to show for it.