How they won it
Back-to-back defeats by Liverpool (2-1) and Arsenal (3-0) in September prompted Antonio Conte to switch to a 3-4-2-1 system; this was a clear turning point. Indeed the Blues have dropped just 13 points in their subsequent 30 fixtures, with David Luiz, Marcos Alonso, N’Golo Kanté (Premier League player of the year) and Eden Hazard among those to have profited most visibly from their manager’s tactical tweak.
Key number: 13
Following that change in formation, Chelsea racked up 13 consecutive league wins – just one shy of the English top-flight record. That sequence was ended …