Manchester City midfielder Fernando is still adamant that the defending champions can catch Premier League leaders Chelsea this season, despite being eight points off Jose Mourinho’s side after just 11 games.
“The English league is very competitive. Chelsea is the team that is best placed, but we know that all teams within the league fluctuate greatly. We did not start well, we had some difficulties, but we know Chelsea will also go through these difficulties and then we have to work to stay as close as possible,” he said.
With Chelsea having won nine league games – beating the likes of Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool already – while picking up points away to Manchester City and Manchester United, the Blues have looked unbeatable this campaign. It’s worth noting that Jose Mourinho has a past record of achieving near-invincibility with his former clubs that Fernando is perhaps forgetting.
The Portuguese coach has a history of his side’s completely dominating a season under his tenure to a near perfect level. His second campaign with the Portuguese Liga outfit saw Porto winning the first title in four years, while boasting the highest every points tally recorded in the division (86). Mourinho promised he would deliver the title in his second campaign with Porto, and had them losing only twice over a 34-game season, spending an incredible eight months at the top.
But the 51-year-old didn’t stop there. Chelsea was his next challenge, and in his first season he led the Blues to their first top-flight title in half a century. Chelsea ended the campaign with a record 95 points, conceding the least amount of goals ever recorded (15), while losing just one game in 38 matches. In addition to going six months without being overtaken at the summit, they kept an incredible 25 clean sheets, which isn’t likely to be beaten in the Premier League.
After another successful spell with Serie A side Inter Milan in the middle, who won two league titles during his time in Italy, Mourinho made the move to La Liga giants Real Madrid, winning the title in his second season with aplomb, which was their first league crown in four years. Real finished the season with a record 100 points from 38 games, losing just two games. They spent a total of 31 game weeks at the top of the table, going the last five months of the season without being dethroned.
History has shown Mourinho teams don’t often choke and throw away league titles, winning seven league crowns in nine full consecutive seasons with four different sides, so will they be winning the 2014/15 Premier League title at a canter, a decade after his record-breaking season with Chelsea in his first stint?
