Beaten 3-2 at home by a magnificent Burnley in their first league match, the champions now face Tottenham next Sunday with players suspendedFor a few seconds after Sam Vokes had risen to meet Steven Defour’s cross to give Burnley an improbable 3-0 lead over the Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge, Antonio Conte stood staring into thin air with his hand resting impassively on his chin. The Chelsea manager has witnessed a lot during a decade in the dugout but watching his misfiring team succumb so meekly to a side who had recorded just one away victory last season surely must have been a new experience.After a strange summer that has seen his employers spend the best part of £130m...
Antonio Conte’s squad appears thin, with new signings merely replacing departed players, while Diego Costa remains in limboJosé Mourinho takes so many swings at so many perceived enemies that it is easy to forget there are times that he may be right. As his final season at Chelsea spiralled out of control, Mourinho flailed in all directions: at referees, at his medical staff, at opponents, at the media and eventually at his own players.But with retrospect a couple of his jabs look well-directed. “I gave my club the report of the season projection on 21 April,” he said after the defeat by Crystal Palace in August 2015. “This is a moment for everybody to assume their responsibilities,” he added during...
Despite Chelsea steamrollering their way to the title with a 3-4-3 formation, Antonio Conte is unlikely to rest on his laurels and will strive to improve team tactics next season and develop his squad for a Champions League challengeChelsea’s domestic campaign ended on a sour note, with last Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal denying Antonio Conte the double in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge. But it is Conte who has been Chelsea’s superstar this season and his decision to switch from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3 in autumn should be considered among the most decisive tactical moves in the 25-year history of the Premier League. After changing to that system, Chelsea steamrollered their way to the title and...
An approach developed by Northumberland eccentric Alan Brown and made notable by Arrigo Sacchi is partly behind the title returning to Stamford BridgeThe back three clearly made a huge difference, as did Antonio Conte’s man-management, but when Eden Hazard was asked in March what the biggest difference was between Chelsea this season and Chelsea last, he spoke of “automisation”. Related: Antonio Conte set to sign £38m Chelsea extension and stay until 2021 Related: Arsenal v Chelsea: match preview Continue reading...
The manager inherited a mess but has glued together a title-winning side with his tactical nous, fierce work ethic and by bringing back the funAnd, breathe again. After an extended, processional run-in that started as a head-down sprint away from the peloton and settled into an imperious push from the front, Chelsea are once again champions of the Premier League. Friday night’s crowning victory at The Hawthorns was the 25th in 30 league matches since Antonio Conte’s decisive re-gearing of his team in September, the tactical switches that have coaxed such a thrilling run from this team of bolt-ons and upcycled squad players, most notably Victor Moses, who was dredged out of the laundry bin in the autumn to become...