Five reasons behind Chelsea's Premier League triumph

In February last year, Jose Mourinho announced his Chelsea side would be kings of England in 2015. He said so with a smirk on his face and winked for the cameras. As the Blues reached the promised land with 3 games to spare, words uttered by the Portuguese manager more than a year ago almost seem prophetic.

When they drew 0-0 with Arsenal on April 26, a chorus of “boring boring Chelsea” rang around the Emirates Stadium as the home side failed to breach Chelsea's disciplined defense.

That summed up Chelsea's effort this year with the blue brigade shutting down and opening up games at will, arousing a mixed feeling of frustration and envy in opposition camps as the season went by.

As the Londoners clinched their 4th title since the Premier League's inception in 1992, we highlight five reasons behind Chelsea's triumph in 2014-15.

Diego Costa

Chelsea's quest for the Premier League crown in 2013-14 ended in disappointment. Despite a misfiring strike force, the Blues mounted a serious bid for the title. Last season, Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba collectively scored only 19 goals in 68 league matches. The club addressed that problem with an improved forward line of Diego Costa, Didier Drogba and Loic Remy. The new troika accounted for 31 goals in 71 matches, with Costa being the chief contributor with 19 goals. The Spaniard's brute force and physical presence added a new dimension to Chelsea's play. Despite missing 11 matches due to an injury, Costa's goal-scoring form powered the Stamford Bridge outfit in the first half of the season.

Magnificent midfield

As part of Chelsea's quest to wrestle back the league crown from Manchester City, the club assembled an impressive set of midfielders. With Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic already in their ranks, Jose Mourinho injected his squad with Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Imagination and creativity, missing in recent years, was infused into the Chelsea midfield by the Spaniard. With Matic effectively cushioning the back four, Fabregas moved freely up the pitch. Hazard played his role of gamechanger to perfect, assisting and scoring goals at key moments especially against the run of play. The Belgian was clearly the league's best player this season and often turned out to be the difference maker in close matches.

Mourinho Masterclass

After his latest triumph, Jose Mourinho has now won eight league titles in four different countries with four different teams in the last 12 seasons. Love him or loathe him, the Portuguese is a natural-born winner. In his second stint, Jose successfully transformed Chelsea into a ruthless, clinical outfit with a mindset of winners. Tactically, the 'Special One' towered over his counterparts, successfully implementing a brand of football that teams failed to counter on the pitch. Setting up his team to play dynamically in the first half, then opting for solidity in the second half of the season, the 52-year-old's methods were extremely effective. Simply put, Mourinho outmaneuvered his competitors.

Transfer Policy

Chelsea laid a solid foundation for a successful campaign in the summer when they comfortably completed the best transfer business in the league. Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Didier Drogba were brought in by Jose Mourinho after identifying the club's failings in 2013-14. Thibaut Courtois, shipped out on loan, returned from Atletico Madrid to relegate Petr Cech to the bench. The club lured winger Juan Cuadrado in January to bolster their attacking options. More importantly, this core group of classy players was part of a consistent team selection that helped them gel effectively throughout the course of this season. Veteran John Terry playing every single minute of every league game, says it all.

Stuttering rivals

Having scored over 100 goals in style to secure their title last season, Manchester City were widely regarded as the biggest threat to Chelsea this season. The surprising inconsistency in their form saw the defending champions lose points at critical junctures in the campaign. Last season's runners-up Liverpool ran out of steam in mid-season, while Manchester United continued to rebuild under new manager Louis van Gaal. Despite their late surge, Arsenal were never really in touching distance of their London rivals throughout the season. Chelsea sat on top of the league table for almost the entire duration of this season. The Blues picked up points when most of their key challengers stumbled, which helped them sail through the title run-in.