Had Chelsea shown the same guts, determination and fight throughout the whole season as they did against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night, they almost certainly will have made a better fist of their title defence. Armed with the knowledge that Tottenham’s failure to win the match would end their chances of winning a first league title since 1961, the hosting Blues battled back at Stamford Bridge to claim a 2-2 draw.
Such spirit has been in short supply, which is why Chelsea are set to produce the poorest defence of a title in Premier League history. The current holders of that unwanted record are Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, both of whom finished seventh 12 months after lifting the trophy. As it stands, the West Londoners are ninth with three matches left to play. Southampton, who currently sit seventh, are nine points better of than Chelsea. Nevertheless, they do at least make the long trip to the North East with some positive away form to fall back on. Of their last nine matches on the road, Guus Hiddink’s side have tasted defeat only once, winning six times during that run. On top of that, they have conceded only four goals throughout that sequence.