Leicester City will lift the Premier League for the first time in their history as Tottenham Hotspur blew a two-goal advantage against Chelsea to come out of Stamford Bridge with just a point.
In a bad-tempered encounter which saw 9 Spurs players go into the book, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min finished off wonderful moves to give Mauricio Pochettino’s side a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Chelsea upped their intensity in the second half and got a goal back when Gary Cahill evaded his marker to meet a corner-kick and thump home with the outside of his boot. The hammer blow was dealt on Spurs when a rejuvenated Eden Hazard unleashed a fierce curling effort in the 83rd minute to beat a helpless Hugo Lloris and send the city of Leicester into absolute delirium.
Here are the 5 talking points that shaped up a historic night at Stamford Bridge and at Leicester, around 130 miles away:
Spurs’ inability to defend set-pieces haunts them yet again
It happened against Leicester in January. It happened again last week against the Baggies. Now, it has happened in the game which mattered most. Spurs’ indecision in marking opposition players during set-pieces has not just resulted in them conceding a goal but also the Premier League title.
How Gary Cahill was afforded the space on the edge of the penalty area to take a touch and belt Chelsea’s opening goal into the back of the net was shocking. The ease with which the England defender pulled away from Toby Alderweireld means that Mauricio Pochettino now has a clear idea on which aspect he must address the most next season if his side are to win the title – defending set-pieces.
Eden Hazard’s best game of the season
He decided the title in Chelsea’s favour with a goal against Crystal Palace last season. Now, he capped off a magnificent second-half performance with a brilliant curling effort in the 83rd minute to equalize for Chelsea and push Leicester City over the line.
The Belgian, who has been heavily lambasted for his insipid performances throughout the season, entered the pitch as a second-half substitute on the back of comments he made last week that he didn’t want to see London rivals Spurs win the Premier League title.
He backed those comments up with a devastating display that reminded everyone of the Eden Hazard of last season. His intense runs down the wing, fleet-footed dribbling which gave Kyle Walker a torrid time and his curling effort following a one-two with Diego Costa was the icing on the cake. It was easily the best display in a hugely disappointing season for the 25-year-old.
A game marred by multiple player clashes and a touchline feud
On one hand, Tottenham were desperate to delay the title race for at least another week. On the other hand, Chelsea were determined to stop their London rivals from doing exactly that. It was a game high on intensity and passion, but it could have done without the countless player clashes and angry reactions post fouls.
Mark Clattenburg – a referee who usually gives players chances to redeem themselves after a bad tackle – was forced to dish out 12 yellow cards (9 of them to Spurs), a true reflection of how ugly the game was.
The showdown between Willian and Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele’s apparent poke at Diego Costa’s eye were just two of a plethora of unpleasant incidents that overshadowed a brilliant game of football on a day which will go down in history books as the day Leicester City were unbelievably crowned champions.
The tension boiled over at the end of the game when Mauricio Pochettino was found at the epicentre of a touchline feud which saw a brawl between the two sets of players. Spurs were obviously not pleased at the prospect of having lost out on the title race, while Chelsea enjoyed the sadistic pleasure of ending Spurs title challenge – even though, ironically, it meant that they had conceded their tag of Champions to Leicester City.
Harry Kane’s composure in front of goal is remarkable
Despite the disappointment in the larger context, at least Spurs have a bucketload of positives to take into next season. Harry Kane’s development, in particular, has been the success story for the North Londoners this campaign.
He has transformed into England’s numero uno striker and his performance in a game as big as the one at Stamford Bridge was also proof that he could deliver goods when it counted the most.
The coolness with which he rounded Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to slot home into an empty net is the characteristic of a striker riding high on confidence. Manager Roy Hodgson will be hopeful the 22-year-old will replicate his sublime form when he travels to France to represent the Three Lions (England) at Euro 2016.
Chelsea would be title challengers with that intensity
Chelsea put in a performance which was worthy of defending champions and suggestive of the fact that they were very keen to wipe their opponents out of the title race. It was an absolute pity that they found their rhythm with just three games of the season to go.
The apparent unhappiness of the players under Jose Mourinho was obviously a key factor which contributed to a season which the Chelsea fans will want to get over with as soon as possible.
If they play with that desire and commitment under Antonio Conte, they could well be in the title mix next season. Eden Hazard’s dazzling performance brought a smile back to most onlookers at Stamford Bridge. With no European commitments next time around, Chelsea will see this as an opportunity to put the nightmares of this season behind them and start afresh in the summer of 2016/17.
