Chelsea very much at the races at top of Premier League

Beating Manchester City shows Jose Mourinho's men are a factor in the title chase, especially with the fixtures list in their favour.

Manchester City's Martin Demichelis, left, and Chelsea's Eden Hazard tangle for the ball during their English Premier League match at Etihad Stadium on Monday. Clint Hughes / AP Photo
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Jose Mourinho is trying to win the Grand National on a pony.

That, at least, is his assessment of the three-horse title race – “two horses and a little horse that needs to learn how to jump” – where the Chelsea manager insists that leaders Arsenal are the favourites and second-placed Manchester City have the best team.

That still leaves Chelsea with twin advantages. They have the manager who, to continue Mourinho’s analogy, is the expert judge of course and distance, having crossed the line first in seven such previous title races, and they have a favourable fixture list

Their only remaining meeting with title rivals, Arsenal, is at home. They play Everton and Tottenham, occupants of fifth and sixth positions, at Stamford Bridge, where Mourinho has never lost a league game, rather than at Goodison Park and White Hart Lane.

Their most daunting trip is to Anfield, but even then, it does not hand Arsenal or City an advantage. Both, too, must visit a venue where Brendan Rodgers’ side have been potent and prolific. Liverpool, the kings of English football in their prime, are now the kingmakers. While they pursue fourth place, they may determine who ends up first.

It suits Mourinho to pretend Chelsea are outsiders and underdogs. In some senses, he is right. Arsenal, after all, have occupied pole position for the majority of the season. City’s four main strikers have scored 69 goals in all competitions.

Their three Chelsea counterparts have a measly 19. Had they lost at the Etihad Stadium, as most predicted they were going to, they would have been six points behind City.

“For Chelsea it was a decisive game,” City manager Manuel Pellegrini said. “Not for us.”

Much as the Chilean prefers to downplay the importance of every match, that was the wrong approach. Titles are won and lost on these kind of stages, and Chelsea’s defiant defending, physical power and counter-attacking verve enabled them to secure a famous triumph.

The key ingredient, however, was Mourinho’s tactical brilliance,

“Jose has the CV for a reason,” said defender Gary Cahill, part of that resolute rearguard. “He is obviously a top-quality manager.”

Mourinho, who likes to suggest that his side are younger than they actually are, claimed he felt they were still a year away from challenging for the title.

He relieves pressure from his charges and tries to apply it to others. The burden of proof is on Arsene Wenger, who has gone nine years without silverware, and Pellegrini, whose last major honour came in South America.

Yet while Mourinho is without the sidelined Fernando Torres, his rivals are hit even harder by the vicissitudes of injury lists. City have to navigate much of the next month, albeit a period where their toughest matches are in other competitions, without Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri and Fernandinho.

Arsenal go to Anfield on Saturday without of their five central midfielders. They have turned adversity into an asset, rallying in the absence of plenty of players, but they have to continue in the similar vein in a week that pits them against Liverpool and Manchester United.

For City, the pivotal period comes in the final seven weeks, when they visit Old Trafford, the Emirates Stadium, Anfield and Goodison Park. It is why, to ensure that a side who began the season by slipping up on their travels have some margin for error, they could benefit from building a lead before then.

Instead, they are still jostling for position.

“We know we are only two points behind Arsenal and there is still a long way to go,” defender Pablo Zabaleta said. “We have got 14 games more to the end of the season.”

As the lead has already changed hands 18 times this season, it offers plenty of opportunities for further twists to the plot. Yet there is a familiar ending to tales involving Mourinho. The final chapter tends to bring celebrations for his sides.

And, while he continues to insist that Chelsea are foals in this particular horseplay, the manager is a thoroughbred.

sports@thenational.ae