West Brom vs Chelsea a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
May 13, 2017
1,905 Views
- There you have it – Chelsea are 2016/17 Premier League Champions
- They required a win at The Hawthorns and although they were made to wait until late on they got the goal they required to end the title race once and for all
- Michy Batshuyai may have been much maligned after his lack of league action this season but he will no doubt go down in Chelsea folklore after snatching the winner with just eight minutes remaining
- Tony Pulis loves nothing more than spoiling a party and it looked as if his West Brom side were going to postpone the party until Monday at least by shutting out Chelsea
- Had that been the case then it would have given Tottenham the slightest glimmer of hope going into their tie with Manchester United tomorrow
- Ben Foster was instrumental in adding to Chelsea’s frustrations with a string of saves that meant that game stayed without a goal to its name
- Eden Hazard who has been undoubtedly quiet by his own standards this season was hauled off with 15 minutes to go as part of a double substitution
- He and Pedro would make way for Willian and Batshuyai as Antonio Conte looked to give Chelsea a bit more of a physical presence up front
- And it would pay off as with the clock running down the ball would eventually break to the former Marseille man Batshuyai
- He would have enough composure to steer the ball past Foster and finally break the deadlock
- It was not necessarily pretty but Chelsea would have taken a goal in any fashion as long as it meant getting over the line
- The tactical switch is testament to Conte as once again he made the right call when it was needed
- The players have been on a different level this season but credit has to go for the transformation that the former Italy boss has carried out Stamford Bridge
- This was a team that meekly relinquished the Premier League title last season but the nucleus of that title winning side was still there, it just needed the right man to bring it all back to life
- Many people imagined that Chelsea would be serious contenders for the top four this season but they have quite simply exceeded all expectations
- Critics will say that they have only had to play once a week due to European exploits and there may be an element of truth in that
- But you can only beat what is in front of you and that in the main is exactly what Chelsea have done
- The run of 13 wins earlier in the season was undoubtedly the backbone for their success, it opened up such a gap at the top that even with Tottenham on their tails they could not get close
- As good as the other sides have been, Chelsea have been relentless
- A blue machine which has run roughshod over the Premier League this season and they are deserved champions
- Can they defend the title with a Champions League campaign next season, that we will have to wait and see
- But it seems as if competing on two fronts is too harder a task in England can Conte be the man to crack the code?
- More importantly can Chelsea ward off any interest from Inter Milan as they look to acquire the services of Conte to spearhead a Serie A title tilt
- There will undoubtedly be comings and goings at Stamford Bridge in the Summer but the best bit of business they can do is making sure ‘The Italian Job’ continues in West London
- As for West Brom there season has really fizzled out, 2 points from the last 21 available
- Surprisingly they have been eighth for an eternity
- Maybe that says more about the teams below them but they are in danger of falling out of the top half if they cannot pick up a win on the final day
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