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Manchester City Game Is a Major Frontier for Antonio Conte’s Improving Chelsea
- Updated: December 2, 2016
When Antonio Conte’s switch of formation in early October brought about Chelsea’s current run of form, Bleacher Report looked at how it paralleled with another similarly impressive period in the club’s history.
The Blues had just thrashed Everton 5-0 to go top of the Premier League, and there was a sniff of Chelsea circa 2004 about the current crop.
Their run of seven wins in their last seven Premier League matches has brought about a nine-point swing in their favour over Manchester City, whom they face on Saturday. At the end of September, Chelsea were eight points behind Pep Guardiola’s side. Having lost back-to-back matches against title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, the perception was they were already out of the reckoning.
But something changed; 3-4-3 was introduced, and Chelsea haven’t looked the same since. They’ve climbed their way to the top of the Premier League, where they sit a point above City and Liverpool, with their league position backing up the claims the Blues are England’s hottest side.
It was a similar story in October 2004, when the Blues lost 1-0 at the venue that would become known as the Etihad Stadium. It was a Nicolas Anelka penalty that delivered a first defeat of any sort for Jose Mourinho’s team, but rather than hold them back, it gave Chelsea a sense of freedom that had been lacking.
Mourinho’s Blues were unleashed of the burden of an unbeaten record and started scoring freely—they’d managed just eight goals in nine league games at that stage. From five points behind leaders Arsenal, within the next nine games, they were five above them and top heading into Christmas.
It was in that period that Chelsea won the title in 2004/05. It was then that they set about making themselves known as England’s dominant side.
Chelsea are returning to the Etihad on Saturday, and the …
