Title races are supposed to leave even elite managers frazzled. The pressure tends to tell over the run-in,
Alex Ferguson’s infamous “squeaky bum time” rendering the most experienced figures diminished in their dugouts as they sense the chasing pack closing in. So, with that in mind, José Mourinho’s mood on the eve of the visit of resurgent Manchester United to south-west London provided a fair barometer of the anxiety gripping at Chelsea.
There was sympathy with the complaints voiced by Steve Clarke and Arsène Wenger over the clash between today’s FA Cup semi-final and the most enticing Premier League game of the weekend, and bemusement at the maelstrom embroiling the champions, Manchester City.
All was calm, utterly at ease, almost jolly. Contrast that with the atmosphere a year ago when Mourinho, his mood darkened by a succession of FA disciplinary charges and a cramped fixture schedule with a Champions League semi-final still to come, had sent his assistant Steve Holland to conduct the media briefing before the visit of bottom-placed Sunderland.
Chelsea would have been top with three to play had they won that game. Instead they surrendered the manager’s 77-game unbeaten home record in the division and were effectively jettisoned from the title race.
A year on and all is very much more relaxed. The message being transmitted from Cobham was that, for all they care, the pressure can fester elsewhere.
Playing catch-up
The closest rivals in the pursuit await in the leaders’ next two matches, today’s visit of a United side who have won their past six league games being followed by a trip to an Arsenal team who are on a run of eight straight victories, but the onus is on those playing catch-up to make this race interesting.
“I know the ideal scenario for people in this country would be for the Premier League to be more like the Championship, with four teams separated by a couple of points and nobody knowing who is going to be promoted or even in the play-offs,” said Mourinho. “But, since day one, we have been top. We are boring.” They have achieved, lost and regained a hefty lead en route but have suffered only two defeats in 31 league games. Life may have become more of a grind in recent months, with key performers off colour or hampered by injuries, but they have still been relentless.
Other sides would have been held by a stubborn QPR team last Sunday but Chelsea pilfered a late winner with their only shot on target. The sight of Cesc Fàbregas scoring and John Terry leading the post-match celebrations on the pitch at Loftus Road must have knocked the stuffing out of those teams who counted themselves as challengers.
Dismantling of City
United are principal among them. Their dismantling of City in the derby confirmed that Louis van Gaal, once Mourinho’s mentor, is overseeing a team who will be capable of restoring the club to the pinnacle. Go unblemished from now until the end of the season, winning at Stamford Bridge and overcoming Arsenal at Old Trafford on 17 May, and could they still have a chance?
“It’s still possible,” said the Dutchman. “It’s not logical but it is possible. It’s more when and if – and I don’t believe in when and if. I believe in facts.”
The Portuguese insisted this season’s race, for all its lack of variety at the top, had been tougher than ever, with the challenge offered up from teams in mid-table, or even those near the foot, rendering everything a grind. Which makes him all the more baffled, even after six defeats in eight games, by the recent criticism of City’s manager, Manuel Pellegrini. “What I’m surprised about is that people can bring this team to hell, a side that won two titles in three years, a team who are still champions and won two trophies last season. It looks like they don’t deserve respect, that they are bad players, that the manager is a bad manager, that they are a disaster – but they are the champions. I don’t understand.
Tacit praise for Pellegrini may simply have been an indication Mourinho does not consider City under the Chilean’s stewardship a threat. Guardian Service
