Yesterday's victory for Tottenham Hotspur was important for a number of reasons. It not only kept them in the title race but has done enough to keep Chelsea sufficiently concerned that they are not, yet, champions.
Conceding already
It seems that the majority of those around the league leaders have conceded the title is beyond their team. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho stated, as reported in the Telegraph newspaper, that "we cannot win the Premier League". Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger stated that the title was Chelsea's to lose after their defeat yesterday as stated in the Daily Mail newspaper.
Jurgen Klopp even went as far to state that his players should not even focus on the Champions League places. As covered on Sky Sports, Klopp stated that "the Champions League is a big, big target" but "after today's performance we don't have to think about this". This concern for securing Champions League football for next year was also stated by Pep Guardiola, who stated that his team, Manchester City, may not make the Champions League this year.
There is one though
There does however, seem to be one team (bar Chelsea) who believe that they can still win the league, and that is Tottenham Hotspur. Their manager Mauricio Pochettino believes that Spurs are can still win the league this year according to Sky Sports.
He not only stated that "nine points is ok, it's three games", he went on to say that "yes, we are a real contender and we are a team ready to win the title".
But can they catch Chelsea?
Chelsea came through this week unscathed against Liverpool and Arsenal, they sit nine points clear and are in good form. But we cannot, as Pochettino has stated, discount Tottenham.
Unlike most of the teams around them, Spurs have made good progress since last year. They ran all the way against Leicester but stumbled at the finishing line. But with a settled, young and exciting squad, they are definitely still within a chance of winning the Premier League. It is a long shot but the work that the manager is doing at The Lane suggests that, if they continue to progress like they have in the next couple of years, they may well win it. Probably not this year but at some point.
