A combination of the Blues' determination and Manchester City's incompetence has brought the title within reach, but the swagger and style of autumn is long gone.
Pride dented and aura damaged by Wednesday’s Champions League exit to 10-man Paris Saint-Germain, Jose Mourinho picked an interesting moment to revisit the theme that helped him make such an explosive introduction to English football back in the summer of 2004.
“My happiness, first of all, is when I compare myself with the others [managers], I see just a few that are with me in terms of success… you are too much worried about myself,” he told reporters. “What makes me feel special is that I am above all of this.”
Such outspoken confidence might prove hazardous for a lesser manager. But just as in his first season at Chelsea, Mourinho is poised to back up his bold talk with the Premier League trophy – even if Sunday’s draw with Southampton provided further evidence that the manner of the triumph is proving markedly less “special” than the man himself.
Hoping for a reaction to the PSG setback, Mourinho made just one change to the side that failed to beat the 10-man Ligue 1 champions. He got one, at least until Diego Costa scored his first goal in almost two months. Then Sadio Mane started running all over a startlingly hapless Nemanja Matic, Shane Long caused his typical nuisance and Chelsea once again looked the tired, fragile team we have watched limp their way to the title since mid-January.
Indeed, the biggest surprise as gaps opened up and mistakes were made in the second half was that Southampton, who had the benefit of 11 days rest and training for this game, were the ones who found themselves driven back and eventually pinned inside their own half. The introduction of Ramires for Matic on 53 minutes, in Mourinho’s words, “killed the counter-attack”, and only towering performances from Morgan Schneiderlin, Jose Fonte and Fraser Forster ensured the visitors escaped Stamford Bridge with a point.
A winner proved elusive. Against PSG their sin was pragmatism; against Southampton it was profligacy. A mixture of both has undermined Mourinho’s men since the turn of the year and is now threatening to help turn this Premier League title race into a comedy of errors.
Manchester City’s latest in a series of inexplicable collapses against Burnley on Saturday turned this into something of a free game for Chelsea, and afterwards Mourinho was equally aware of a point gained and an opportunity lost.
“There are two perspectives [on the result],” he insisted. “One is that a draw at home to Southampton is not a good result, and for me that perspective is very acceptable because I have this feeling. The second perspective is we had a five-point gap to second and now we have six points to second with one match less [played].”
Another consequence is that Arsenal, incredibly, have been allowed onto the fringes of the title conversation. “Of course,” Mourinho replied when asked if the Gunners were contenders, though he dismissed any suggestion that five straight Premier League wins makes them more dangerous than City: “Which momentum… 3-1 against Monaco? Or 3-0 against West Ham?”
Despite their lead, it seems remarkable that Chelsea have allowed it to come to this. From August to November it looked as though we were witnessing the emergence of a team every bit as dominant as Mourinho’s first group of Stamford Bridge champions, but with added swashbuckling style. Diego Costa ran riot, Eden Hazard teased and tormented, Cesc Fabregas was the best footballer in England and Nemanja Matic was a one-man wall in front of a defence impressively marshalled by John Terry. The balance was beautiful and brilliant.
Given his startling lack of rotation, it is tempting to conclude that Mourinho was just as enamoured with the chemistry of his strongest XI as the rest of us. A run of four games in 11 days over the festive period – culminating in that 5-3 defeat to Tottenham on New Years’ Day – destroyed Chelsea’s air of invincibility and they have never been quite the same since.
What has followed instead has been classic Mourinho: grating performances, grinding results and spiky press conferences. On the pitch, a combination of the leaders’ determination and the champions’ incompetence has ultimately brought the Blues to the verge of what was always this season’s primary goal.
There are still 10 games for Chelsea to change the narrative, and the absence of Champions League commitments will surely boost the energy levels. Winning the title is no longer a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ and ‘how’. A return to the form of autumn would be a fine exclamation point on an excellent season, though as long as he gets to grasp the trophy in May it is likely Mourinho will consider himself “special” regardless.
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