Soccer: Mourinho strut contagious

LONDON - It may have smacked of arrogance, but Jose Mourinho's claim in November that his Chelsea side could win the English premier league title "with one or two weeks to spare" suddenly seems a little modest.

Chelsea did not win the title at Tottenham on Sunday, as Arsenal did last May, but their 2-0 victory at White Hart Lane means only a monumental meltdown can stop them.

Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Bolton means Chelsea, who claimed their only title 50 years ago, are 10 points clear and on course to make the final weeks of their centenary season a glorious victory parade.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side overturned a similar deficit to overhaul Manchester United and win the title in 1998, but a repeat of that scenario looks highly unlikely with bookmakers making Chelsea almost unbackable at 1-9 hot favourites.

An away trip to Tottenham, who had shot up the table with an eight-match unbeaten league run, was predicted as a stumbling block by many pundits, and no doubt Wenger and his Manchester United adversary Alex Ferguson were hoping for a fall.

In truth, as in most of their matches this season, Chelsea never really looked like losing as the central defensive duo of skipper John Terry and William Gallas registered yet another clean sheet.

In the 13 games in which the pair have played together this season, Chelsea have not conceded a goal. In total Chelsea have only leaked eight goals in 23 Premier League games.

"Nobody can beat Chelsea this season," Tottenham's Dutch coach Martin Jol said. "They are hard to play against because when they have the ball, with (Damien) Duff and Arjen (Robben) they have three strikers.

"When they don't have the ball they have five in midfield with three in the middle. They work very hard. Mourinho has done a great job and he must be a special coach."

Mourinho can boast a bigger chequebook than any of his rivals this season thanks to Russian owner Roman Abramovich, but it is impossible to put a value on his tactical wizardry.

At Porto in Portugal, where he won the Uefa Cup and Champions League in successive seasons and dominated the domestic honours, he had far less money to spend, but crafted a side based on defensive organisation, intelligent movement and no little flair.

He has brought those same principles to Chelsea, who are equally adept at grinding out 1-0 victories as they are at tearing teams apart with high-tempo attacking football.

Wenger virtually conceded the title after his side's defeat at Bolton, saying "they can only lose it now because they have already won it".

With Mourinho's contagious self-confidence flowing all the way down the famous King's Road into the heart of Stamford Bridge, however, neither Wenger nor Ferguson will be holding their breath waiting for a Chelsea capitulation.

Mourinho, never normally short of a few words, let his assistant Steve Clarke do the talking on Saturday, but the message was loud and clear.

"If we keep getting three points, there's not much the others can do. We're not invincible, but we're on top of our game and the matches can't come quick enough."

- REUTERS