John Terry has pointed to Chelsea's resilience and ability to dig deeper than those among the chasing pack as key to the team's imminent title success this season, arguing neat and tidy possession football is meaningless if it does not yield victories.
The former England captain was outstanding in his side's goalless draw at Arsenal on Sunday, a result which means Chelsea can claim the title this week if they defeat Leicester on Wednesday and Crystal Palace at the weekend. The leaders have still only lost twice in the league all season, and not at all since New Year's Day, and boast a 10-point advantage at the top which they have maintained despite suspensions and injuries disrupting their approach over recent months.
The disgruntled Arsenal fans had chanted "boring, boring Chelsea" as Sunday's derby petered out, with Mourinho's side maintaining their clean sheet having won their two previous matches, against Queens Park Rangers and Manchester United, despite conjuring only three shots on target. Louis van Gaal's side had monopolised the ball at Stamford Bridge only to succumb to a winner from Eden Hazard, who was duly crowned the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year on Sunday.
“We are definitely not boring and if we do go on to win it, nobody’s going to remember the performances when perhaps it’s not been that exciting,” said Terry. “We’ve dug deep and other teams haven’t, and that is why they are so far behind us. Possession is great. We could see that from the Manchester United game last week. Possession and tippy-tappy football’s great, but if you are not winning games you’re not going to win the league.”
Mourinho's approach has become more pragmatic, and "less artistic" according to the Portuguese, in the absence of Diego Costa and Loïc Rémy, but they remain the second highest scorers in the division behind Manchester City. "Let's not forget the first half of the season, up until Christmas, when we were the best side by far," said Terry. "The football we played with [Cesc] Fàbregas and his assists, the goal at Burnley [from André Schürrle] and others after that. The play was different class.
“Things then went against us and the manager, being him, came up with the way to get us through games. That’s where he’s at his best. Let’s not forget we were the best side up until Christmas for sure and we have actually beaten the teams who have made things difficult for us. Now we are one step from where we want to be. Leicester are flying, you can see they have got a bit of wind in their sails as well, so it is going to be a really tough game on Wednesday, but it is in our hands. Not anybody else’s. We are grinding out results, we have got the quality in the squad, so hopefully we can get over the line because we are very close.”
The manager had described Terry's performance in the goalless draw at the Emirates stadium as his "best ever", maintaining the 34-year-old's fine form this season. The centre-half is an ever present over the league campaign and has proved inspirational in a team that has not even trailed in a Premier League game since losing at White Hart Lane on New Year's Day. Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic were all included in the PFA's team of the season, with the excellent César Azpilicueta unfortunate to miss out.
“I’m not too sure [it was my best display],” added Terry. “I got on the end of a lot of crosses and cleared a few. You can feel when things are going well and, definitely, during the game I felt it was. But to hear that from the likes of the manager, who stands there and assesses you day-in, day-out, is really nice. But I just have to keep on and keep going, because it can go the other way.
“Arsenal are a really good side, especially going forward, so we needed to be on it defensively, which we have been collectively. I just thought, even in midfield, tracking back late on you could see they were a little shattered a little bit, but everyone dug deep. Defending is an art. I totally respect Arsène Wenger [who had described defending as easy last week], he’s a great manager. But, from our point of view, I am just delighted.”
