Chelsea Finishes Again

In December, Jose Mourinho complained that his team couldn't finish, and that winning one-nil is "the easiest thing in football." Chelsea were coming off a lackluster November, and had just been bounced from the League Cup by 20th place Sunderland; not good. Arsenal and Manchester City were outshining them, both playing much more beautiful, complete football, despite the fact that both teams had dropped points against the Blues; City had left London with nothing, while Arsenal drew at home, in a dull, pre-Christmas 0-0 match. Chelsea looked set for third.

Now the Blues seems to have one hand on the trophy. With nine points in hand on City, albeit having played three more games, Chelsea is distancing itself from Liverpool, Arsenal and City. They have produced, for two weeks straight, average first halves, and inspired second periods. Both came in London derby's, and both saw one player, first Andre Schurlle, and later Samuel Eto'o, rise to the challenge. Even though, quite famously now, Jose Mourinho continues to deny that Chelsea wants to and has a chance to win the title; but even he has begun to water down that argument, saying that with all the leaders on different game amounts, the title race is still unclear. He still claims that City are the champions-elect; whether this part of Mourinho's infamous mind games or not, it seems overly humble. But outside of the Portuguese's press conferences, many in the press have made a complete 180, declaring the west Londoners the real champions-elect.

Since the start of the New Year, Chelsea hasn't lost a game in the league. They've played 10 games, getting 26 points out of a possible 30. Only Liverpool has had comparable form in 2014. It's easy to see why pundits are changing their views of Chelsea and their season; their wins in the year include Southampton, United, City, Everton and Spurs. They still have to travel Liverpool, and host Arsenal, but their record against the best teams is impressive, losing only to Everton. Chelsea can best be described as a team which plays to their opposition; great against the great teams, mediocre or decent against mid-level teams. Although both Arsenal at home and on the road against Liverpool will be tough games, the rest of the schedule for Chelsea is fairly easy. If the Blues continue to kill off opposition like they have been, the title very well could be in their hands. Also considering the fact that all the other major contenders are soon to face schedule congestion, with Chelsea only involved in two competitions; Liverpool remains in the FA Cup, while City and Arsenal must juggle league, Cup and Champions League action. Chelsea have the advantage of only being involved in two competitions, which limits their tiredness; this must be encouraging for a team that played almost 70 games last year, and went to at least the FA semis and won in Europe over the past two years. Chelsea are set up to challenge for the trophy, in reality, for the first time since winning it in 2010-11.