Not the sweetest strike you’ll see. Not the sweetest strike of the game, in fact. But Loic Remy’s tentative prod which squirmed past goalkeeper Allan McGregor and trickled into the net was like a shot of nectar for Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho may one day reflect on this late contribution from a striker he has rarely used as the moment when self-doubt was allayed and the Barclays Premier League title was secured.
Having been 2-0 up inside nine minutes at Hull, courtesy of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, Chelsea had to prove they could banish this habit of throwing away the lead. But their not-so-reliable-anymore defence wobbled and creaked.
Ahmed Elmohamady and Adel Hernandez levelled before half-time and Thibaut Courtois performed a breathtaking triple-save from three Hull players, mid-way through the second half, which Steve Bruce thought was the key moment.
It was still 2-2 as the clock ticked towards 77 minutes and Cesc Fabregas rolled a pass to Willian on the Chelsea right.
Willian found Remy and the substitute, only on for a few seconds after replacing the injured Costa, jabbed it towards McGregor, who was clearly expecting something else entirely because he was wrong-footed, unable to recover, and the ball slithered over the line. A thrilling game was settled by a scruffy goal and Chelsea’s cushion at the top of the table was plumped.
‘I’m pretty confident,’ said Mourinho. ‘We got what we deserved. We have a six-point lead, one match in hand and eight matches to go for our opponents. They can make 24 points. I believe in my players.’
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