Chelsea beat West Bromwich to clinch EPL title
West Bromwich (England) May 13 (IANS) Capital football club Chelsea grabbed their second English Premier League (EPL) title in three seasons with a 1-0 victory here over West Bromwich Albion as they took an unassailable 10-point lead over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea who started Friday s contest with 84 points from 35 matches needed to win just one of their final three games to assure themselves of their fifth league title. Substitute striker Michy Batshuayi s 82nd-minute goal gave Chelsea a 1-0 win over West Bromwich reports Efe.
Tottenham have only three matches available to them and the maximum points they can accumulate are 86 -- one less than Chelsea s current points tally of 87 with two games to go.
It culminates a remarkable comeback from Chelsea who floundered in the last EPL season 2015-16 to finish 10th after winning the 2014-15 title under Jose Mourinho. But Italian tactician Antonio Conte revived the London club as the coach came with a 3-4-3 formation with success.
Their Friday s opposition West Bromwich even though on track to equal their highest finish of eighth place in the EPL couldn t stop Conte s men.
Chelsea started the match positively and moved freely in the West Bromwich end but failed to trouble home goalkeeper Ben Foster in the early going.
The hosts meanwhile remained true to their defence-first style while remaining alert for a chance on the counter.
When the match clock passed 80 minutes with the score at 0-0 it began to look as if Chelsea would have to wait for next Monday s home tie with Watford to seal the championship.
But Belgian Batshuayi had other ideas scoring in the 82nd minute off a cross from Cesar Azpilicueta.
The Chelsea squad and the travelling fans -- some having paid up to 1 800 pounds ($2 319) for their tickets -- erupted in celebration.
Chelsea s Antonio Conte becomes the fourth coach to win the EPL in his first season in the English top-flight joining his predecessors Jose Mourinho (2004-2005) and Carlo Ancelotti (2009-2010) and Mauricio Pellegrini who guided Manchester City to a first place finish in 2013-2014.
--IANS
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