4 Truths: Chelsea and Conte deserve all the glory, Batshuayi made his mark

A Friday night meeting at The Hawthorns did not show Chelsea at their best, but it didn’t matter when the chants of the away fans were reverberating through the night and the players and coaching staff were embracing in delirium. Title-winners again.

It completed a remarkable turnaround from the depths of last season, when a dark, Jose Mourinho-shaped cloud enveloped the club, spreading misery and fear. But the arrival of Antonio Conte changed everything over the summer and above all, this has been his triumph. Conte cannot get enough credit for what he has done this season.

Back in September, when Chelsea were 3-0 down at half-time against Arsenal, Conte was on the ropes, but at half-time of that fateful match at Emirates Stadium he switched to the 3-4-2-1 formation which would propel Chelsea to a 13-match winning streak and, ultimately, the title.

They still have two games remaining and could end up with 93 points. Chelsea have been the best team this season, with an honourable mention for Tottenham, and the title is rightly theirs, and the magnificent Conte's.

Michy Batshuayi had not scored a Premier League goal since August 20. He still has not started a league game for Chelsea. The Belgian striker had become more famous for his lively tweeting than his forward play. And yet, he had the final word in Chelsea’s title campaign.

It would be too much to describe it as fitting: that would have been N’Golo Kante launching a counter-attach from which Eden Hazard set up Diego Costa to score. But it was a nice allusion to Chelsea’s formidable team spirit which has left Batshuayi a willing participant even from the sidelines.

Kante is the double Player of the Year. Hazard pushed him close on both counts. David Luiz has confounded his critics. Victor Moses has surprised everyone. Pedro has proved himself a Chelsea player. Gary Cahill has excelled with the armband. There have been no shortage of plaudits for Chelsea players this season, but there is one who remains underrated, whose excellent work goes well under the radar. Cesar Azpilicueta.

On Friday night he made one of the most important contributions of any player in a Chelsea shirt, bar Batshuayi. On 70 minutes, as Salomon Rondon broke away from a clumsy attempt at a rugby-hold from David Luiz and accelerated towards goal, suddenly, seemingly, one-on-one, Azpilicueta doggedly pursued him and put in a fantastic saving tackle just as the striker unleashed. For good measure he then got the assist for Batshuayi’s goal.

It is worth recalling that the Spaniard was originally signed by the club as a right-back in 2012 before replacing Ashley Cole as the regular left-back in the 2013-14 season. In 2016-17, we have seen Azpilicueta 3.0: a centre-back in Antonio Conte’s back three. The 27-year-old has excelled in every role a succession of managers have asked him to play in. Yes, his lack of height was badly exposed when Dele Alli scored twice in a 2-0 win for Spurs in January, but otherwise this season has been another vivid demonstration of his adaptability and reliability.

If Ross Barkley has played his last game at Goodison Park as an Everton player, he certainly left supporters with a sumptuous reminder of his talent. Everton boss Ronald Koeman gave Barkley an ultimatum over his future in the build-up to Friday night’s match at home to Watford, with Barkley so far unwilling to sign extend a contract which lasts for just one more season.

Tottenham are reported to be strong admirers of Barkley, and although he has had a bit of a patchy season under Koeman, with whom he reportedly fell out over public criticism of his performances, he showed all his ability with a quite brilliant goal on 56 minutes, just his fifth of the campaign. Phil Jagielka started the move with a sliding tackle which pushed the ball into Barkley in the centre of the pitch, allowing him to drive forward into the gaping space ahead of him.

What made it a special goal was how he then fooled Heurelho Gomes: seemingly shaping up to use a covering defender as a shield and simply guide the ball around him into the corner of the net, Barkley then whipped the ball the other side of the goal. Gomes had stepped the other way to anticipate the shot which never came. Barkley had given the keeper the eyes, the optic nerve and the whole body too. It was a masterpiece of misdirection, and he left the pitch to a standing ovation on 80 minutes – for the final time, perhaps.