patelism

Carlo Ancelotti, in his first season as manager of the English Premier League’s Chelsea, guided the soccer club to the title Sunday with an 8-0 win over Wigan, a match in which Didier Drogba, above, scored three goals. Mr. Ancelotti had never worked outside of Italy, and his English was initially rudimentary, but the London club, despite failing to invest heavily in the summer, delivered its first league title since 2006, scoring an incredible 103 goals along the way. And, next weekend, Chelsea has a chance to win the F.A. Cup as well, as unheralded Portsmouth awaits in the final. Across Europe, plenty of managers with new clubs saw success this season. Of the 20 managers who finished first or second in the top 10 European leagues, no fewer than 13 were in their first season in charge.

Chelsea only won the Premier League by a single point and, although the Londoners led for much of the campaign, they were never out of sight. Even Arsenal managed to reach the Premier League summit on a couple of occasions in March. But Chelsea’s ability to score goals against anyone saw them claim a deserved first Premier League title under Carlo Ancelotti, in what was an often turbulent season. 

When the Italian arrived in west London many fans expected a return to the defensive, pragmatic tactical approach of the ‘SpeciOne’ Jose Mourinho. But nothing could have been further from the truth as Ancelotti only tweaked a squad that had been so inconsistent under Felipe Scolari. From Terrygate to the injuries to Michael Essien and Ashley Cole, Chelsea did it the hard way and here are the pivotal moments.

Drogba late show against Hull

Back on a balmy afternoon in August, Chelsea were struggling to overcome a Hull side that had set themselves up well and looked on course to gain a deserved 1-1 draw. But you can never rule out Didier Drogba. With the 90 minutes up, the Ivorian scored a bizarre goal in injury time that ensured Carlo Ancelotti won his first Premier League game as Chelsea manager. With Drogba attempting to toss the ball in from the left, his mis-hit cross looped over the scrambling Boaz Myhill in the Hull goal and clinched victory for Chelsea in the most fortuitous manner.

December Blues

Between August and November, Chelsea were threatening to be runaway winners of the league. Chelsea’s last game in November, a 3-0 hammering of Arsenal, saw Chelsea open an 11-point gap on Arsene Wenger’s side, with Didier Drogba at his inspirational best on a rainy night at the Emirates. But despite this, Chelsea’s form dipped throughout December and the Blues picked up a poor nine points from a possible 18, including a defeat at Manchester City and draws with Everton, West Ham and Birmingham.

Chelsea’s last game of a disappointing month saw local rivals Fulham come to Stamford Bridge. With Chelsea 1-0 down with little over 15 minutes to go, Didier Drogba nodded in to equalise, before Fulham’s 20-year-old debutant Chris Smalling scored an own goal. Had he not scored that own goal, Smalling’s new club Manchester United, and not Chelsea, would be celebrating the Premier League title.

After that game, Ancelotti tellingly declared Chelsea’s slump over. He said: “This could be an important victory in the season because I’m very happy with the reaction of the team during a bad spell. We reacted as a team and not individuals.”

Terrygate

The John Terry-Wayne Bridge affair was a bolt from the blue and was undoubtedly the most unsettling influence on Chelsea’s season. Chelsea’s usually austere defence rarely gets breached at Stamford Bridge, yet when Wayne Bridge’s Manchester City visited London in February – merely a month after the scandal broke – Terry’s form was at its lowest. The ‘will they or won’t they shake hands’ soap opera consumed the tabloids in the days leading up to the Manchester City game, with the entire saga having a sorry effect on the now former England captain’s form, Chelsea were rocking.

They conceded four that day and, despite Ancelotti’s best efforts to keep his team focused, there was no doubt that Terrygate was affecting the whole team. Ancelotti recently admitted that the team meeting he conducted after the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City was crucial in focusing his players’ minds at a time when Wayne Rooney’s prolific form was keeping Manchester United’s dreams of a fourth consecutive title alive.

Top-three form

When Carlo Ancelotti looks back on this season he will accept that they won it by hitting top form against the top teams. Chelsea’s consistency against last season’s top three – Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal – saw the Blues take a maximum 18 points without conceding a single goal. This staggering record ensured that Chelsea always kept their rivals at arm’s length.

 

 

Didier Drogba’s controversial winner at Old Trafford was key to Chelsea’s campaign.

 

Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford

Chelsea went to Old Trafford on April 3 in the knowledge that a win would see them go top and keep Manchester United and Arsenal at bay. Chelsea were by far the better side at Old Trafford and, having pounded Aston Villa 7-1 the previous weekend, a confident Chelsea performance was rewarded by Joe Cole’s slinky opener.

But Didier Drogba is never far from controversy and although his 79th minute strike was rifled in expertly, he was clearly offside and, although Manchester United pulled a goal back through Federico Macheda two minutes later, Sir Alex Ferguson was enraged that the goal had been allowed to stand. After the game, he said: “What I can’t understand is the linesman’s directly in front of it. He has no one near him and he gets it wrong. A game of that magnitude, you really need quality officials and we didn’t get them today. It was a poor, poor performance.”