Jose Mourinho refused to get too far ahead of himself as Chelsea closed in on the Premier League title with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United yesterday.
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Louis van Gaal labelled United’s performance their best of the season, but Eden Hazard’s 18th goal of the campaign sent Chelsea 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal.
The Blues need eight points, but a win over nearest challengers Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on April 26 and victory at Leicester three days later would see Chelsea crowned champions.
Chelsea beat Man Utd with 30% possession, West Brom beat Palace with 32%. Who cares how much of ball you have? Possession is overrated
— alistair magowan (@alistairmagowan) April 18, 2015
The Gunners would have five games to play, but the Blues would have an unassailable 16-point lead and clinch the self-proclaimed Special One’s third English championship following his successes in 2005 and 2006.
Mourinho is taking nothing for granted, although he recognises wins in the remaining home games with Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Sunderland would be enough to seal the trophy.
“We need eight points to be champions,” Mourinho said. “Football is not about ‘if’, it’s not about ‘almost’. It’s about mathematics.
“When mathematically it’s done, it’s done, we celebrate. Until that moment, no. We need two victories and two draws to be champions.
“What we can say is that we play (for) nine points at home. We can be champions just at home with the matches we play at home. Obviously if we can get points away, it’s better.”
Van Gaal expects Chelsea to wrap up the title now, but did not concede defeat.
“It is more logical that they win than we win,” he said. “It, for me, is not a surprise, but the possibility that they win the championship is much bigger now because the pressure is off for them.”
Van Gaal took some consolation in the performance of his side, but knows it counted for little.
He said: “It’s amazing how we have played here. When you see the statistics it’s unbelievable that the result is 1-0. But that’s football. It’s not like another sport. That counts.
“It is not that we have made a big step in our process that counts. For me it counts. But for the fans we have lost and Manchester United have lost. That’s a pity when you play so well.”
