Chelsea recorded their 13th straight win on New Year's Eve over Stoke. It was a typically entertaining game at Stamford Bridge, with Stoke twice coming from behind only for Antonio Conte's side to flex their muscles and blast past the Potters.
Oliver Holt started his report of the Blues win in the Mail on Sunday with a brilliant story about Conte, which highlighted why many people regard him as one of the best managers in world football.
A couple of days before Christmas, the staff at the Chelsea training ground at Cobham were handed presents from Antonio Conte. This was all the staff. Not just assistant coaches and masseurs. This was everyone. People who served in the canteen, others who cleaned the changing rooms, kitchen workers, administrative staff. All of them.
Conte had chosen either a bottle of Barolo or a bottle of Prosecco for each and what particularly impressed them was the fact that he had taken the time to write an individual note to every recipient.
At the end of each note, he had jotted down a quotation from the great military commander, Hannibal, famous today for leading his elephants over the Alps. ‘We will either find a way,’ the line Conte had chosen read, ‘or we will make one.
The average price for a bottle of Barolo is between 30 and 40 quid, with Prosecco being about a tenner cheaper. But multiply that by about 200 or so staff and that's a hefty bill for the Italian to splash out on.
The quote at the end was reflective of how Chelsea have ground out a few of those thirteen wins. Victory at Spurs on Wednesday will equal a Premier League record and it's hard to argue that they don't deserve it.
You can see the full match report here
