2016-17 Premier League Season Review: Chelsea's Title

Chelsea won the 2016-17 Premier League title because Antonio Conte did something no other manager tried: he abandoned his own formation three games into the season and never looked back. After a 3-0 loss to Arsenal on 24 September 2016, Conte switched from a back four to a 3-4-3. Chelsea won the next 13 league matches in a row. The rest of the league spent the next eight months trying to catch up and never got closer than seven points.

The gap between Chelsea and the chasing pack was not just about points. It was about a structural choice that turned a mid-table defence into a title-winning one. Chelsea conceded 33 goals all season, the second-fewest in the league, while scoring 85, the second-most. Only Tottenham matched them on both sides of the ball, and even that was not enough.

The formation switch that broke the league

Chelsea started the season with a 4-1-4-1 that looked disjointed. They beat West Ham and Watford but lost to Liverpool and Arsenal in consecutive weeks. After the Arsenal defeat, Conte installed Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, and Gary Cahill as a three-man centre-back unit. Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses became wing-backs. N'Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic sat in front of the defence. Eden Hazard and Pedro played off Diego Costa.

The 13-match winning run that followed is the longest single-season winning streak in Premier League history. Chelsea beat Hull City, Leicester City, Manchester United, Southampton, Everton, Middlesbrough, Tottenham, Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Watford in sequence. By the time they lost again, at Tottenham in January 2017, the title race was effectively over.

The contenders who could not keep up

Tottenham finished second with 86 points, seven behind Chelsea. They scored 86 goals, the most in the league, and conceded only 26, the fewest. Harry Kane won the Golden Boot with 29 goals in 30 appearances. Dele Alli added 18 from midfield. Mauricio Pochettino's side played the best football in the league by most attacking metrics. They lost only twice after October. They still finished seven points clear of third and nowhere near first.

The reason is simple: Chelsea's start was too strong. Tottenham began the season with two wins in their first five matches. They spent the autumn chasing, then the winter closing, then the spring realising the gap was structural. Chelsea had a system that beat everyone except Arsenal, who beat them twice, and Tottenham, who held them to a draw and a win. No one else found a way.

Manchester City finished third with 78 points, eight behind Tottenham. Pep Guardiola's first season in English football produced a lot of possession and not enough ruthlessness. City conceded 39 goals, the highest among the top six. Liverpool finished fourth with 76 points, booking a Champions League return after a two-year absence. Jurgen Klopp's side scored 78 goals and conceded 42. They beat Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham but lost to Burnley, Swansea, and Crystal Palace. Consistency was the problem.

Arsenal finished fifth with 75 points, the first time in 20 seasons they finished outside the top four. Arsene Wenger's decision to stay for two more years was announced during the run-in. The atmosphere at the Emirates turned sour. Alexis Sanchez scored 24 league goals and was the only attacker who looked like he belonged in a title-chasing side.

Manchester United finished sixth with 69 points, winning the Europa League and the League Cup but finishing 24 points behind Chelsea. Jose Mourinho's first season at Old Trafford was defined by draws: 15 of them, the most in the top seven. They lost only five times, fewer than any side outside the top two, but turned 50 of 57 points from winning positions into draws.

The relegation fight and the survivors

Sunderland, Middlesbrough, and Hull City went down. Sunderland finished bottom with 24 points, their 10th relegation from the Premier League. David Moyes could not stop the slide. The club conceded 69 goals and scored only 29. It was their worst points total since 2005-06, when they also finished with 24.

Middlesbrough went down with 28 points. Aitor Karanka's defensive approach kept them in matches but not in the division. They scored only 27 goals, the fewest of any side. They conceded 53, which was mid-table-level. The problem was creating anything going forward. No Middlesbrough player scored more than five league goals.

Hull City finished 18th with 34 points. Marco Silva took over in January and nearly pulled off a rescue. Hull beat Liverpool and drew with Manchester United in the second half of the season. But the damage from the first half, when they took eight points from 17 matches, was too deep. Hull conceded 68 goals, the second-most in the league.

Leicester City finished 12th with 44 points, 37 fewer than the previous season. The champions avoided relegation by winning five of their last eight matches under Craig Shakespeare after Claudio Ranieri was sacked in February. Leicester were in the relegation zone when Ranieri was fired. They finished 10 points clear. Jamie Vardy scored 13 league goals, down from 24 in the title season.

The individual performers who defined the season

Eden Hazard won the PFA Players' Player of the Year after scoring 16 goals and providing five assists. He was not the highest scorer or the highest assister, but he was the most dangerous player in the best team. Hazard finished with 224 points in FPL, sixth among all players, with 12 double-digit hauls.

Harry Kane scored 29 goals in 30 appearances, winning his second consecutive Golden Boot. His minutes-per-goal rate of 90.9 minutes was the best in the league among players with 10 or more goals. Kane had 14 FPL double-digit hauls, the most of any player.

Romelu Lukaku scored 25 goals for Everton, finishing second in the Golden Boot race. He added six assists. Lukaku scored against every side he faced except Liverpool, who kept him goalless over 180 minutes.

N'Golo Kante won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year, becoming the first player to win consecutive Premier League titles with different clubs. Kante provided the screen that allowed Chelsea's back three to operate without pressure. His 61 interceptions led the league. His 93 tackles ranked fourth.

Key takeaways

• Chelsea won the title by 7 points after switching to a 3-4-3 following their 3-0 loss to Arsenal in September. The 13-match winning run that followed is the longest in a single Premier League season.
• Tottenham finished second with 86 points, the most of any runner-up in Premier League history up to that point. Harry Kane scored 29 goals to win the Golden Boot.
• Arsenal finished fifth for the first time in 20 seasons, ending their streak of top-four finishes. Arsene Wenger's future dominated the final months of the season.
• Sunderland were relegated with 24 points, their 10th relegation from the Premier League. The club scored only 29 goals all season.
• N'Golo Kante became the first player to win back-to-back Premier League titles with different clubs, after moving from Leicester City to Chelsea in the summer of 2016.

FAQ

Who won the 2016-17 Premier League? Chelsea won the 2016-17 Premier League under manager Antonio Conte, finishing with 93 points, seven clear of second-placed Tottenham.

How many games did Chelsea win in a row in 2016-17? Chelsea won 13 consecutive Premier League matches between October and December 2016, the longest winning streak in a single Premier League season.

Who scored the most goals in the 2016-17 Premier League? Harry Kane scored 29 goals for Tottenham, winning the Golden Boot for the second consecutive season.

Which teams were relegated in 2016-17? Sunderland (24 points), Middlesbrough (28 points), and Hull City (34 points) were relegated to the Championship.