With another narrow, less than impressive victory, Chelsea Football Club, led by Jose Mourinho and starring Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa, has claimed the 2014-2015 English Premier League title, the fifth league championship in the club’s history and the fourth under the Roman Abramovich administration, winning four in the last 11 seasons.
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This is the fifth league title for Chelsea. Three of these titles have come under the management of Jose Mourinho, beginning his Premier League count in 2005, adding more in 2006 and now in 2015. Between these titles, while Mourinho was doing well (and less than that, depends at which club), there was Carlo Ancelotti’s title in 2010. In 1955, the club’s only non-Premier League era title, it was Ted Drake at the helm.
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Chelsea have lost just twice this season in the league, beaten by Newcastle and Tottenham. They haven’t lost to their “title rivals” if there is such a thing when the championship seems to come so easily, not losing once against Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United. They’ll probably keep that mark in tact after playing Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
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Diego Costa’s goal number, the team’s leading scorer in the league (and in all competitions, although that might not last until the end of the season). It was a historic start for the Brazilian/Spaniard, but injuries, suspensions and simply falling out of form took him away from his incredible pace. Still, it’s been a remarkable debut season for Costa, who didn’t let his awful summer at the World Cup or the change of scenery from the Spanish La Liga to the Premier League hurt his quality or finishing. On the contrary; it seemed to only make him better.
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Six players, more than any other club, were in the PFA team of the year: Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic. In fact, no other club had more than one player in the team of the year.
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This was a wire to wire title for Chelsea. They’ve led the league at the end of every month since August, beginning the season with a 3-1 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, didn’t lose their first points until September 21 (fifth match) and lost for the first time only on December 6 against Newcastle. Manchester City were able to keep up, but only for about half a season before drifting apart, not leaving any doubt about the identity of the champions.
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On a more individual note, it’s Jose Mourinho’s eighth championship as a manager. Two with Porto, his third for Chelsea, nine years after his last one with the Blues, two with Inter and one with Real Madrid. The formula says that Mourinho always delivers in the second season, or to be more accurate his teams peak. Maybe it’s true this time, but Mourinho has said more than once he doesn’t plan on leaving this time, not so quickly. The Champions League? That will have to wait at least until the end of year 3.