England Is Blue Again - Chelsea Are Champions.

The former Italian national team manager Antonio Conte came to England last summer to take over Chelsea, following their worst season in well over a decade and a tenth place finish. Less than 12 months later the London club are lifting the famous Premier League trophy again after a great season, a "great season" which could be a "fantastic season" should Chelsea complete the domestic double by beating Arsenal in the FA Cup final, says the Italian manager.

The Blues became champions on Friday 12th May after a 1-0 away win against West Brom, making them the first champions the be crowned on a Friday. They secured the title with two games to spare, after closest challengers Spurs lost to West Ham at the London Stadium earlier in the week. The goal scored by young Belgian Michy Batshuayi, the striker has been on the fridges at Stanford Bridge for most of the season but his goal that secured a 6th league title for Chelsea will be one that puts his name history.

It's been a very successful season season for Conte's men, one which did not get off to the best of starts. Following a relatively convincing opening to the campaign, Chelsea failed to register a win in the month of September, losing games to both Arsenal and Liverpool comfortably, as well as a draw to Swansea. However it was the loss to the former which lead to, in the eyes of many, the change in direction for the London club which has taken them to the title. Chelsea then went on a 13 game win streak, not conceding a goal in the first 6, and registered a 4-0 win against former manager Jose Mourinho's Manchester United, and a 3-0 win against now former champions Leicester City in the process. In total Chelsea have since lost just three times in 26 league games following their defeat to Arsenal, going from 6th in the table to holding a commanding lead at the top and a ten point lead over rivals Spurs with two games to play.

The stars of Chelsea, who last season struggle to find any form have this season flourished. With Diego Costa and Eden Hazard both hitting double figures in terms of goals this campaign, scoring 20 and 15 respectively. Winger Pedro has found a new role throughout the season at wing back, but that hasn't hindered the former Barcelona player one bit, with the Spanish native reaching both 8 goals and assists, being involved in more goals then anyone outside of Costa and Hazard for the champions. The switch to a three centre back system following their defeat to Arsenal is one which truly allowed the Chelsea back line to flourish. David Luiz and Gary Cahill both came under criticism early in the season, especially the Brazilian with many people wondering what caused Chelsea to re-sign him from PSG. However when full back Cesar Azpilicueta moved inside and joined centre of defence, all three men upped their performances, which lead to the 6 match clean sheet run which really kick started the season. One signing however that really shocked was Marcus Alonso. The Spaniard, who failed to nail down a place in the Bolton side all those years ago joined Chelsea and slid perfectly into the left wing back position and has consistently put in quality displays down that left side. Alonso registers 3rd for the club in terms of tackles won and aerial battles won, the man bought in from Italy also finished as the clubs 5th top goal scorer, contributing 6 league goals so far.

The man I'm yet to comment on however is the PFA Player of the Year, becoming only the second man in history to win back to back Premier League titles at two different clubs, with the other being Aussie stopper Mark Schwarzer, N'golo Kante. The Frenchman has been the anchor in Chelsea's midfield that has allowed their attacking players the freedom they need. After an 'un-sung hero' season at Leicester last year, Kante has been at the forefront this time around, as everyone has been able to see what an incredible job he does. Chelsea have a history of brilliant holding midfielders, with Claude Makelele inventing the 'Makelele' role, and being closely followed by fan favourite Michael Essien. Kante is the latest in this list and perhaps the quickest to get the credit that all of the great players playing this role deserved. Kante registered first in both tackles and interceptions for the champions, underlining just how effective he has been for Conte's side. And, unlike last season, Kante's impressive performances were acknowledged by his peers, being awarded the PFA Player of the Year award, and rightly so.

Congratulations to Chelsea and everyone who is involved in the club for a very successful league campaign. As I previously mentioned the champions will now be chasing the domestic double, with an FA Final against Arsenal on May 29th. It is fitting that the fixture that really turned Chelsea's season around will also close the season. They will next season return to the Champions League after a rare absence during this campaign, and we'll be able to see if Conte's side can translate their domestic success across the continent.