Relentless Conte & Chelsea reclaim their title

The 2016-17 English Premier League title was won by Chelsea for the second time in three years, with boss Antonio Conte becoming the second Italian in succession to triumph, following Claudio Ranieri and Leicester’s memorable achievement in 2016.

The Blues collected 93 points to finish seven points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, for their fifth Premier League title and sixth overall. After a shaky start, Conte’s side went on a superb run in the second half of the season to lead a relative procession to the crown, leaving a transitional Liverpool and Manchester United completely in their wake.

CHANGES

The close season, as usual, witnessed major upheaval as expensive transfers became the norm, and new managers looked to shape their squads. Louis Van Gaal was replaced at Manchester United by Jose Mourinho, while Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City to much fanfare. Ronald Koeman swapped Southampton and St Mary’s for Everton, while David Moyes arrived at Sunderland following Sam Allardyce’s ill-fated departure for the England job.

On the transfer front, Paul Pogba moved to Manchester United from Juventus for a world-record fee, while Sadio Mane’s arrival at Liverpool proved to be one of the most lucrative of the window. John Stones was one of the most expensive members of Guardiola’s City revolution, but N’Golo Kante’s decision to move to Chelsea from Leicester was one of the key components in the Blues’ victory.

Hull City, Burnley and Middlesbrough were the sides newly-promoted from the Championship, replacing the relegated Newcastle United, Norwich City and Aston Villa.

SEASON SUMMARY

As the season started it provided little indication of the dominance that was to come from Chelsea. Despite winning all three of their league matches in August, September proved more testing, with losses to Liverpool and, in particular, a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal leading Conte to opt for a formation change to a 3-5-2 – a decision that would unlock the attacking…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/relentless-conte-chelsea-reclaim-their-title-the-2016-17-premier-league/39

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-08-03 11:00:00

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