Chelsea have won the title, and Antonio Conte has won the league title in four successive
seasons as a club coach after winning the Serie A title with Juventus in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Conte is the fourth Italian manager to win the English top-flight title after Carlo
Ancelotti in 2009-10, Roberto Mancini in 2011-12 and Claudio Ranieri last season, and the
fourth manager to lift the Premier League trophy in his first season in England: Mourinho
did it in 2004-05, Ancelotti in 2009-10 and Pellegrini in 2013/14.
Mourinho’s 2004/05 win and Ancelotti’s in 2009/10 were also with Chelsea, making
them the debutant’s team of choice.
But how does this Chelsea team rank against the other title winning Chelsea sides?
Chelsea have won the top-flight title six times, in 1954/55 in the old First Division,
and five times in the 38 game Premier League era.
So far, Chelsea have won 29 games and with only a home fixture against Sunderland to
come, this seems likely to end on 30.
Chelsea’s 29 wins in 2004/05, 2005/06, and this
season, are the three highest totals of games won in the Premier League era by any side.
If we look at wins per game, this season’s Chelsea is, so far, the best of Chelsea’s
title-winning sides and, by extension, the best PL side ever for wins per game.
Should Chelsea beat Sunderland, then, this will cement their record as the Premier League
era’s most victorious team.
However, this does not translate to points per game, as Chelsea’s 2004/05 vintage only lost once.
This season’s vintage won’t catch 2004/05 even with three points against Sunderland,
but it’s worth remembering that even Arsenal’s
Invincibles achieved 90 points despite going unbeaten all season, the same tally Conte’s
men currently have even though they’ve lost five matches.
Defensively, there’s little to choose between the three most recent title-winning sides,
while Jose Mourinho’s two title-winning teams
stand out both relative to other Chelsea sides and
within the Premier League era more generally.
Indeed, Chelsea of 2004/05 have the best defensive record in the PL era, while the
2005/06 side’s 22 were only bettered by Arsenal in
1998/99 and equalled by Manchester United in 2007/08.
In terms of scoring, this season’s Chelsea have 80 goals, the equal 15 th highest Premier League total ever.
However, Carlo Ancelotti’s 2009/10 team’s 103 goals is still the Premier
League’s highest ever total (though the all-time top-flight record is Aston Villa’s
128 in the First Division in 1930/31, a whopping 3.05 goals per game).
Comparing the six Chelsea title winning sides, Conte’s team is second.
One of the many things Chelsea have done well this season is converting their chances.
Their 14.5% shot conversion rate is the best in
the league, with Arsenal’s 14.0% second.
Indeed, when looking at shots on target per game,
this season’s Chelsea are the 11st worst Chelsea side in the Premier League era.
Their scoring rate is achieved because so many of these shots on target are converted
into goals, despite the low relative total of shots
on target per game compared to other Chelsea sides (and other sides historically).
So, comparatively, this Chelsea side could win more than any other side in Premier League
history, despite not being as defensively sound as the two Mourinho-led title-winning sides.
This has been achieved by scoring plenty, though not as many as Ancelotti’s team,
through utterly clinical finishing, as shown by the
low-ish shots on target achieved per game by the high shot conversion rate.
This team are ruthless, then, making the most of their chances and winning relentlessly.
They are deserving champions and could lay claim to being one of the best ever in the
Premier League era, not just the best Chelsea league-winning team.