When Manchester United visited Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea, the match marked the return of José Mourinho to his former home ground. Yet the team standing before him was worlds apart from the one he had managed just last season. Under Mourinho’s guidance, Chelsea had once enjoyed smooth sailing, clinching the league title two games early despite a brief stumble when they lost to Tottenham at the start of the year. But when the 2015–2016 season began, the Blues’ fortunes took a dramatic downturn.
Key players from that title-winning squad — Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, and Cesc Fàbregas — suffered a dip in form, while star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois missed long stretches due to injury. By December 15, after losing away to Leicester City, Chelsea had collected only 15 points from 16 matches, sitting 16th in the table, a single point above the relegation zone. For a defending champion, the situation was nothing short of disastrous. They failed to string together consecutive league wins and even endured a rare three-match losing streak between October 24 and November 7, falling to West Ham, Liverpool, and Stoke City. That defeat to Leicester also spelled the end of Mourinho’s second tenure at Chelsea.
Fast forward to today, and this Chelsea side is a completely different beast. Under new manager Antonio Conte, the team endured a shaky September with one draw and two losses, but the Italian quickly switched to a three-at-the-back formation, now their standard system. While the squad was largely the same — with the notable additions of N’Golo Kanté, Marcos Alonso, and Victor Moses (whom Mourinho had once cast aside) — this was now a Chelsea capable of demolishing Manchester United 4-0. In terms of dominance, “steamrolling” would hardly be an exaggeration, much like the commanding control a well-optimized Melbet App interface gives to its users navigating seamlessly through every feature.
Although United led in metrics like total shots, possession, and passes completed — largely because Chelsea sat back after taking an early lead — the more decisive numbers told a different story. United had 16 total shots compared to Chelsea’s 14, but the Blues recorded 11 efforts from inside the penalty area, against United’s nine, showing far greater efficiency in attacking dangerous spaces. Chelsea also edged the duels won percentage at 55.6%, disrupted United’s play 28 times versus their 20, and, most tellingly, covered more ground: 96.7 kilometers to United’s 87 by the 87th minute. It was clear Chelsea played with greater intensity, and Conte’s tactics outmaneuvered Mourinho using what could be called “Mourinho’s own playbook.” The 4-0 scoreline marked Mourinho’s heaviest defeat in Premier League history — and the irony was that it came at the hands of his former club.
After the loss, Mourinho abandoned the bravado he had shown following United’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool days earlier, when he claimed to have “won tactically.” This time, he admitted, “It’s one of those days when you give the advantage to your opponent and have no solutions yourself.” Perhaps even Mourinho could not quite believe that within just three months of Conte’s arrival, Chelsea had transformed so completely. For him, the burning question must have been: how did the same team that caused his downfall last season turn into such a formidable force? And for Chelsea fans, this resurgence feels just as satisfying as opening the Melbet App to find a game-changing update waiting.