Gary Neville has revealed he believed Chelsea would storm to the title as soon as they rectified their defensive problems earlier in the season.
The Blues suffered an indifferent start to the Premier League campaign and were forced into a change in system after a poor display at Arsenal.
The tactical switch certainly paid dividends for Antonio Conte, with Chelsea moving 10 points clear in the title race.
Manchester United legend Neville felt his former side were capable of challenging for the title before the season began, but quickly realised Chelsea were the team to beat.
‘I thought United would have a chance at the start of the season,’ Neville told Omnisport.
‘But when Diego Costa and Eden Hazard turned up and they corrected their defensive problems by going three at the back, it became pretty apparent quickly that the old Chelsea were back.
‘There’s a lot of Premier League winners in that Chelsea team. The issue has been you don’t know which Chelsea will turn up from one season from the next.
‘Once the real Costa and Hazard turned up and you had David Luiz in defence and [N’Golo] Kante in midfield, you have a championship-winning team, or the makings of one.’
Former England defender Neville added: ‘There is still a bit to go, they [Chelsea] still have some work to do. It won’t be as comfortable as we think, there might be some dropped points in the next few weeks.
‘The challenge at United was probably bigger than what everyone thought. When I look at it now, I don’t think anyone could’ve won the league with United this season.’
COMMENTS