Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is of the opinion that it is beyond any team to reach the 100-point mark in the Premier League. "No, it's impossible," Conte said (before the West Bromwich Albion game) when asked if any team could reach 100 points in the Premier League.
"You can see in the past the title has been won with only 85, 87 points and it's very difficult to reach 90 points. For us it's important to play game by game, not too far ahead."
Trending
Also Read: EPL 2016/17: Antonio Conte responds to Chelsea's reported interest in Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez
Conte himself has set the Serie A points record, amassing 102 points in his final year at Juventus. But he believes that the same feat is not possible in England due to the sheer competition in the division. The Italian said, "Right now it's impossible and in the future it will be very, very difficult because every single game is very tough.
"To have won eight games in a row is fantastic. In every game, you have to fight a lot. You can win 2-0 but it's very difficult also to manage the result in England. In other countries -- and also in Italy -- if you are 2-0 up with 15, 20 minutes left it's very difficult to change the result. You are able to manage it tactically."
Last season's champions Leicester City, had a comparatively low total of 81 points and Chelsea themselves had 87 when they won the title in 2014-15. The Premier League record is 95 points, set by Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in 2004-05 and no team has surpassed 90 since Manchester United in 2008-09.
"I think this number, 95, is a fantastic number," said Conte when asked about it.
Chelsea are currently flying high and consolidated their position at the top following a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion. Diego Costa scored the solitary goal, which gave the Blues their ninth consecutive victory.
Also Read: EPL 2016/17: Antonio Conte criticises Sergio Aguero for THAT tackle on David Luiz
This stunning run has cemented them as title favourites after a mixed start to the season. They are three points above nearest challengers Arsenal, and some winnable fixtures in the festive period could see them increase that gap even further.
Talking of notching up points, Chelsea could have points deducted. The brawl in the dying minutes at the Etihad Stadium last week was the fifth such incident involving Chelsea players. This could result in a deduction of 5 points, though Conte labelled this possibility as a ‘joke’.
