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Chelsea won the title at the weekend for the first time since Jose Mourinho’s return to the Premier League, and their third title in total under the Portuguese’s stewardship.

The victory against Crystal Palace meant that Chelsea added the Premier League title to the League Cup they won in March, doing the league and cup double for the second time in their history.

The trophies have led Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, to open contract discussions with Mourinho, who still has 2 years left to run on his current deal. The Russian billionaire would like to tie him down for longer, though, as the two seem to have put to bed the issues that caused Mourinho to leave the Bridge back in 2007.

Mourinho has now won 3 Premier League titles for Chelsea, as well as three League Cups, an FA Cup and the Charity Shield. When he won them the title in 2005 it was their first top flight title win in 50 years, and the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ has no intention of leaving any time soon.

After the 1-0 win over Palace Mourinho said, “As I was saying since the beginning of the season, I stay here until Mr Abramovich wants me to stay. The day he tells me to go, I go”.

Mourinho has won the Champion’s League with both Porto and Inter Milan, but he is yet to achieve the same feat with the Chelsea team that seems to fit him like a glove. It is likely that Abramovich will back Mourinho in the transfer market to ensure that this happens sooner rather than later.

It is believed that a new contract for Mourinho will secure his services at Stamford Bridge until 2019, and as long as relations with Abramovich remain cordial it is likely he will remain in the Premier League for the foreseeable future.

Chelsea Football Club have been crowned Premier League Champion’s after beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

In stark contrast to last season, when the title went to the final day of the season with both Liverpool and Manchester City contenders for the crown, there has been a feeling of formality in recent weeks as Chelsea have held the top spot since before Christmas.

They needed just 3 points from their remaining 4 games, and it looked like it might be a close run thing as Julian Speroni saved Eden Hazard’s penalty in the first half. But the PFA player of the year took no time in making up for his error, putting a header past the Argentine on the stroke of half-time.

The game was little more than a procession after that, with Palace testing but not pushing Chelsea and the Blues happy to soak up the pressure in the style that has become the hallmark of all Mourinho teams.

The Portuguese manager is a divisive figure outside of West London, with his antics over the years including gouging the eye of Tito Vilanova, calling Arsene Wenger a voyeur and disrespecting numerous club managers by trying to shake their hands before the final whistle.

The win at the Bridge, though, meant that this is Chelsea’s third title under the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’, and the Chelsea fans showed their loyalty and love towards him by displaying a banner saying ‘The Special One – He’s One Of Us’.

It is Mourinho’s eighth title in twelve years and, whatever else can be said about him, there’s little doubt he knows how to win. This season he’s built a team based around the wiser heads of players like John Terry and Didier Drogba, alongside exciting younger prospects such as Eden Hazard and Diego Costa.

BBC pundit Alan Shearer has backed Chelsea to win the title since August, and he said after the match that Mourinho is a “serial winner who lives for titles and trophies”.

He also feels that the “boring” tag Chelsea have been lumbered with in recent weeks is unfair. He said, “It is not Chelsea’s problem if teams cannot beat them, and it is pretty embarrassing if they call them boring”. Shearer feels the only tag that Chelsea deserve is that of “worthy champions”.

Shearer’s opinion seems to be backed up by facts, as only Chelsea in 2005-2006 and Manchester United in 1993-1994 have spent longer at the top of the league in a single Premier League campaign than this Chelsea team. In 2005-2006 they were top for 257 days, and United managed it for 262 days. This year Chelsea have been at the top for 253 days. Worthy champions indeed.

Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich was there to see his team clinch the title, and when referee Kevin Friend blew the final whistle he punched the air in celebration. Now it is his hope and desire that Chelsea go on to improve on this season’s double – they won the League Cup in March – by dominating Europe next season. Mourinho has won the Champion’s League with Porto and Inter Milan, but whether he can do it with Chelsea remains to be seen.

John Terry has hit back at the critics who have called Chelsea “boring”, as the Blues beat Leicester at the King Power Stadium to take another step towards winning the Premier League.

Having gone behind to a Marc Albrighton goal on the stroke of half-time, Chelsea struck back with goals from Didier Drogba, Ramires and the captain himself, Terry.

The ex-England defender said after the game, “We’ve been the best side all season…[we] deserve respect”. His thoughts were echoed by Chelsea’s striker Drogba when he said, “We don’t get enough credit. We are top of the league, we have the most points and people find us boring because we have been top since day one”.

The win means that Chelsea are just one victory away from their fourth title under the Portuguese manager. If they beat Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday then they’ll be crowned Champions.

Mourinho said “This was the month when people were waiting for Chelsea to slip up, to lose one game or draw…we were phenomenal tactically, with team spirit”.

The Chelsea manager doesn’t intend to take anything for granted, though, and he is asking the Chelsea fans to make sure they don’t either. He said, “I hope our fans walk up to Stamford Bridge not celebrating but to play the match with us and push them – that is the spirit we have in our group”.

Nigel Pearson was quick to praise Chelsea too, despite seeing his team Leicester City throw away their lead and remain fighting for their Premier League survival. He stated after the match, “I’ve heard criticism of Chelsea recently and I find it bemusing to be honest. The best sides are able to win games in different ways and Chelsea illustrated that tonight”.

He continued, “Before the game started we knew it was a case of when, rather than if, Chelsea win the title. The result did not necessarily reflect the balance of the game but we played against a very good side who will be worthy winners of the Premier League”.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper, Shay Given, also backed up Terry’s remark that Chelsea deserve more respect than they’ve been getting. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, the Irishman said, “People had been talking before the game, calling Chelsea boring and predictable, but they came here and swept Leicester aside…they are so close to touching the title”.

Boring or not, Chelsea are potentially just 90 minutes away from lifting the Premier League trophy, and their fans won’t mind it if that sort of tedium continues for a long time.

Chelsea have retained the FA Youth Cup after beating Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Under the watchful gaze of Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich, under-18 manager Joe Edwards saw his side come from a goal down in the second leg to win 2-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate.

The young Blues were confident going into the tie, having already won the first leg 3-1 in Manchester. But they had to show their resolve when Kelechi Iheanacho put the Sky Blues one up after just six minutes.

Izzy Brown soon put the Londoners back on level terms when he headed in captain Charlie Colkett’s cross. Then, early in the second half, Tammy Abraham steered Dominic Solanke’s cross into the back of the net to all but end the match as a contest.

It was, incredibly, Abraham’s 39th goal in all competitions this season, and those goals have helped steer the Chelsea youth side to their fourth FA Youth Cup in the past six seasons.

On their way to the final the Chelsea team have had to overcome Tottenham, Newcastle and Swansea. They were rewarded on the night of the final by not only being watched by Abramovich, but also by Chelsea’s Technical Director Michael Emenalo and the Chairman Bruce Buck.

It remains to be seen whether any of the players will be able to take the step up to the first team, but the future is looking very bright indeed for the club that will soon be crowned Premier League Champions.

The Professional Footballer’s Association has named Chelsea winger Eden Hazard the Player Of The Year. The Belgian has scored 13 goals and created 8 assists in the Premier League this year, and is one of the chief reasons that Chelsea are heading towards winning the league title.

Last year Hazard was awarded the Young Player Of The Year award – a gong taken by Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane this time around – and he was delighted to take the main prize this year.

“I’m very happy”, he said. “One day I want to be the best and what I did this season is play very well”.

The midfielder’s fellow professionals vote on the Player Of The Year award, and being the recipient of it left Hazard feeling humbled. He said, “I don’t know if I deserve to win but it is good for me. It is better to be voted by the players [as] they know everything about football.

Alan Shearer, the ex-Newcastle United forward and now a pundit for the BBC, believes that the Belgian will keep getting better. In a blog for the broadcaster Shearer wrote, “Wrapping up the league title with Chelsea will still be what matters most to Hazard this season. But being voted PFA Player Of The Year will mean a lot to him too”.

Shearer continued, “The bad news for Chelsea’s rivals is that, at 24, Hazard is only going to get better. In 3 or 4 years, I think we could be talking about the Belgian being the best player in the world – he has the potential to be that good”.

It’s Hazard’s consistency for the Blues that Shearer thinks is what has earned him the gong from his fellow professionals. Diego Costa might have been banging the goals in throughout the season, but his injuries meant he hasn’t sustained that form. Hazard, meanwhile, has created the most goal-scoring chances in the league and attempted and completed the most dribbles, too.

While Hazard took the personal accolade at the PFA event, the Chelsea team’s sterling season was also recognised when the PFA Team Of The Year was announced. Costa and Hazard both featured in the attacking part of the team, but the Blues also dominated the defence.

Nemanja Matic, Chelsea’s defensive midfield rock, was in the centre of the Team Of The Year, with Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry and Gary Cahill all lining up at the back.

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard was also honoured at the event when he and Steven Gerrard were jointly presented with the PFA Merit Award. Both players are off to play Major League Soccer in the summer and have collected 220 England caps between them. But it was the current Chelsea crop who were the toast of the town, with the Belgian winger taking all of the accolades.

Eden Hazard has been one of Chelsea’s key players this season, and his blistering performances have caught the eye of people outside of Stamford Bridge.

Not only is the Belgian looking to be a shoe-in for the PFA Player Of The Year Award – an award voted on by members of the player’s union, the Professional Footballer’s Association – but he has also won the admiration of Real Madrid’s coach Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane, when asked about Eden Hazard’s play this season, said, “I like everything he does on the pitch…I like the way he carries himself. That decisive streak in him, and the fact that he’s improving every year”.

He also said that Hazard should be thought of in the same bracket as Messi and Ronaldo – players that are commonly considered to be the best in the world. Zidane said, “They’re fantastic players, but I like Hazard a lot too”.

This posturing from the Real Madrid camp is bound to set some bells ringing at Stamford Bridge, despite the fact that Hazard signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract at The Bridge in February.

Real Madrid have long had a tactic of releasing information to the press to the turn the head’s of potential targets, and it seems as though Eden Hazard is their latest target.

In the summer of 2013 Real Madrid angered the Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy by constantly making overtures towards the then Spurs player Gareth Bale. Quotes from people associated with the Spanish giants about how good Bale was and how well he’d fit into the system emerged in the press on a regular basis. By September 1st the Welshman had signed up with the Madrid team.

Having already won the League Cup and being well on their way to winning the League, neither Mourinho nor those in the Chelsea hierarchy will be overly concerned by Zidane’s comments. They will, however, be sure to keep a close eye on words emerging from the Bernabeu. Comments such as Zidane saying, “He can still get better…and I think he’s a big reason why Chelsea are top of the table” will ensure Mourinho keeps his ace winger as happy as possible.

Arsene Wenger has said that he hopes Cesc Fabregas gets “the respect he deserves” when Chelsea face Arsenal at The Emirates over the weekend.

Fabregas only managed to win an FA Cup medal during his time at Arsenal, though he became a firm fans’ favourite and developed into one of the most technically gifted midfielders in the world.

Fabregas joined Arsenal in 2003 at the age of just 16, staying with the Gunners for nearly 8 years. He left for his boyhood club in 2011 and went on to win La Liga, Copa Del Ray and the UEFA Super Cup with the Spanish Giants.

In the summer of 2014 Arsene Wenger turned down a chance to buy Fabregas back from Barcelona, resulting in the Spaniard joining Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea team for a fee believed to be in the region of £30 million.

Wenger has played down the notion that he should regret not re-signing Fabregas by saying, “The regret I have is that he wanted to leave here. This club and myself had a very positive influence on Cesc’s life, so I would be a bit uncomfortable to have to justify today why he is not here. I believe I would rather it was the other way around”.

Arsenal trail Chelsea by 10 points and are, realistically, the only team that could stop the Blues from winning the title. Wenger will be hoping that he can lead his Arsenal team to their first victory against Jose Mourinho’s men in 12 times of asking. He’ll also be keen to ensure that his decision not to resign Fabregas doesn’t come back to haunt him.