Martin Samuel
It’s easy to defend Jose Mourinho! The Chelsea boss is not dull… he’s brilliant
* Jose Mourinho is aiming to complete back-to-back wins over the English and Spanish league leaders
* Chelsea have not received the credit they have deserved this season
* If Liverpool win the league, they will have conceded more goals than any champions in Premier League history
* David Moyes was unsuited to the Manchester United job from the start if he thinks he was given the fixture list from hell
* This season may be the greatest ever Premier League title race
Excerpt: In fact, if Liverpool do go on to win the league, they will have shipped more goals than any champions in Premier League history — including those seasons when the title was decided over 42 games.
The top team do not usually let in anywhere near 46 goals — even Manchester United’s 37 in 2012-13 was high and their 45 in 1999-00 was the previous Premier League record.
Chelsea conceded 15 in winning a first title under Mourinho in 2004-05 and only 22 the next year. Even the swashbuckling United gave up only 22 goals in 2007-08 and George Graham’s Arsenal once let in 18 in a triumphant 42-game season.
If Liverpool now win the title, even if they do not pick the ball out of the net again, they will still have conceded more times than any champion team since Derby County in 1974-75 (49 in 42 games). So they were always at risk against a manager who could spot a weakness a mile away — particularly one which was painted bright red.
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Valid points – but their strike force has got them their league position. You can’t argue with that.