AFTER a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates early in the season, Chelsea were on the ropes.
The BBC report described the Blues as “old”, “jaded” and “broken”.
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An analysis of the team’s failings from back to front ended with the verdict that the Chelsea boss “has a large job on his hands”.
But what nobody realised, including most at Stamford Bridge and even the head coach himself, was Antonio Conte had already begun the process of fixing the Blues.
And the tactical switch Conte made in the second half, as an exercise in damage limitation as much as anything, went on to underpin a Premier League title triumph.
Lifting the trophy in May seemed impossible after the first half of Chelsea’s sixth game of the 2016/17 season.
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A week after a home defeat by Liverpool, Conte’s Blues found themselves three goals behind to a rampant Arsenal with five minutes of the first half still to go.
But after the break, the Italian threw on Marcos Alonso in place of Cesc Fabregas, but in a left wing-back role.
The switch at least stemmed the tide a little and Chelsea escaped further punishment – even though the defeat was Conte’s heaviest as a manager for six years.
After the game he said: “We have not got the balance and now is the moment to consider everything.
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“We must reflect a lot to find very soon the right way.”
But Conte had already found it; the same formation which had brought him such success at Juventus.
In the next game, a home league clash at Hull, he sent Chelsea out in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Alonso kept his left-wing back berth, Cesar Azpilicueta retained his new role as a right-sided centre back, and winger Victor Moses came in as the right wing-back.
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Behind centre forward Diego Costa, Willian and Pedro lined up more as a pair of No 10’s than orthodox wingers.
There were some teething problems. David Luiz, in a libero role in the middle of the back three, was grateful to see a mistake not lead to a goal for Hull.
But Costa set up Willian for the opening goal just after the hour and grabbed the second himself in what became a comfortable victory.
Chelsea and Conte never really looked back and pretty much stuck to the 3-4-2-1 set-up for the rest of the season.
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The Hull result was the first of 13 Premier League wins in a row, the first six of them without so much as conceding a goal.
The Blues lost only three more times and beat Arsenal 3-1 in the return match at Stamford Bridge in February.
Conte’s formation found the “balance” he craved. A defence deprived of the ageing John Terry for most of the season nevertheless looked solid, with Luiz enjoying arguably the best season of his career.
Azpilicueta played all 47 matches of the campaign and was almost as impressive.
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Meanwhile, Chelsea were the second-top scorers with 85 goals, just one behind nearest rivals Tottenham.
Costa hit 20, Hazard chipped in with 16 and the Blues sealed the title with two games to spare, thanks to a 1-0 victory at West Brom.
N’Golo Kante celebrated winning back-to-back English championships after his heroics with Leicester the previous season, and won the PFA and FWA Player of the Year awards.
Conte’s team also set a new record of 30 wins in a season. Chelsea have not lifted the title since.
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But their fans have been playing up the similarities with 2016/17 from the moment Alonso was appointed.
The new Blues manager even has an advantage over Conte. The club’s recruitment over the summer was designed to help him play in the same 3-4-2-1 system which he used to lead Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden Bundesliga crown in 2024.
But in Pedro Neto, Alonso seems to have found a surprise package right wing-back, just as Conte did in Moses.
The Italian also had more time to drill the formation and its requirements into his players 10 seasons ago because Chelsea were not involved in European competition.
Alonso is in the same situation in this campaign. Of course, there are huge differences, too.
Conte inherited an experienced group of players which included Premier League and World Cup winners.
Despite the addition of thirtysomethings Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck and Emi Martinez in the summer transfer window, Alonso’s squad is not at the same level.
And his players are having some issues adapting to his formation. While terrifying trio Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro are reviving memories of Costa, Hazard, Willian and Pedro up top, the midfield and defence are yet to get up to speed.
But Chelsea go to Arsenal on Sunday with two Premier League wins under their belt.
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A clash with the champions will be a good early test of the system which brought Conte and Blues glory before. And even defeat need not be a disaster.
Even though that is how it felt when Chelsea lost the same fixture 10 Septembers ago.
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