Chelsea are once again Premier League champions, for the fifth time in the last 12 years after beating West Brom 1-0 on Friday thanks to a 82 minute winner from substitute Michy Batshuayi.
Still two games to play for Chelsea, but they can’t be caught now. They can still reach 93 points if they win their final two games and that would be the second-highest points total in Premier League history after Chelsea in 2004/05.
Afterwards manager Antonio Conte, who became the fourth manager to win the Premier League in his first season in charge, described winning the title he as “a great achievement” and hailed the sense of togetherness as Stamford Bridge throughout the memorable campaign.
‘I want to show thanks for their commitment and their desire to do something this season. After this win I think we must be happy for this season.’
The Italian cited his reversion to the 3-4-3 formation in September after a run of bad form as key to the club’s charge to the title.
‘That decision changed our season. We had to change and find a new suit for our team. In my mind there was this option to play a 3-4-3 because I knew I had the players to do that.
‘We were not lucky, we did a great job. It’s important to rest. It is a great season but now we can win the FA Cup.
‘Every game I feel like I have played with my players! I show my passion and my will, my desire to stay with my players in every moment of the game. This is me, I am this.
‘In the present, in the past, I stay with my players in positive and negative situations. We won this title together.’
Blues skipper Gary Cahill praised his team-mates insisting they deserved their success.
He said: ‘These are times in football. These opportunities that you want to grasp with both hands. You just want to cherish them.
‘Consistently I think we’ve been the best team in the league. There’s no better feeling than this in football.
‘People have written us off as a team and individually and this has shut them up. We are champions. It’s another one in the cabinet.’
Club captain John Terry, who has spent most of the season on the substitutes’ bench, revealed he was proud of the newly crowned champions.
‘These boys have been on the field doing it week in week out. It’s been a delight to sit and watch, a different perspective.
‘The togetherness was shown from day one.’
