4 hours ago 1

'The right ingredients' - 20 years since Mourinho's first title win

It was 20 years ago today that Chelsea beat Bolton 2-0 to win their first league title in half a century.

The culmination of years of steady progress in the 1990s, taken to a new level two years before by the arrival of Roman Abramovich, was a season of total domination from the Blues under Jose Mourinho.

While the victory over Bolton will be remembered as the game that sealed it, it was more a day of celebration than anything else. Fans who had been watching Mourinho's winning machine sweep aside all in their path since August were not in any doubt at this point that the title was theirs. It was a question of when, not if.

In a season when the Blues kept an incredible 25 clean sheets and went more than 1,000 minutes without conceding at one point, they only needed a single goal in most games to get the job done. When Frank Lampard battled through the Bolton defence and drove the ball in after an hour, even the most pessimistic supporters were already celebrating.

Lampard's second goal was the perfect way to seal it. The midfielder carried the ball from the halfway line with a clear run on goal, giving supporters around the world 10 exquisite, unforgettable seconds to watch their dreams coming true, moments that were burned into their memories forever.

There is no player in the club's 120 year history who they would have trusted more in that situation to calmly round the goalkeeper and put the ball into the net.

The contrast between that team and the current squad couldn't be greater. The defence and goalkeeper were rock solid, the midfield and attack full of quality and experience, and there was an iron bond already forged between Mourinho and the fans - one that persists to this day.

Each of those elements feel very distant now, and the combination of all of them almost unreachable.

But if that season taught us anything, it is that a winning team can come together very quickly - if you have the right ingredients.