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Far from boring: Chelsea wins 4th Premier League title

Reuters

Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Naturally, star winger Eden Hazard scored the only goal of the match.

By virtue of the win, the Blues secured the Premier League title. No other club in England's top division can reel them in at the top of the table over the final weeks of the campaign.

Is this bland writing boring you yet? If you're an Arsenal supporter, perhaps.

Related: PHOTOS - Chelsea clinches Premiership with victory over Crystal Palace

Chelsea, derided last week by Arsenal fans at the Emirates for being a drab, mechanical side - boring, as they chanted incessantly - cemented their status as the very best England has to offer, securing what has long been an inevitable league crown.

It was fitting that the sun, much like the team this season, appeared intermittently in London on this day, hiding behind the clouds over Stamford Bridge at various intervals of the match.

Chelsea, loaded with the brightest stars in the Premier League, did not shine all season. There were dips in form. There were ugly - even boring - performances. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, scorching hot at the beginning of the year, cooled off when the calendar flipped.

But through it all, there they were, high above the rest of the competition, with Hazard leading the way.

The Belgian, already with the PFA Player of the Year award in tow ahead of the opening whistle Sunday, found the net on the stroke of half-time to start the celebrations early in west London. The 24-year-old earned his side a penalty in the 45th minute with a trademark burst into the area after some nice interplay with Willian, setting the stage for Chelsea's best player to end the club's five-year title drought.

For once, his unique style from the spot - looking straight into the goalkeeper's eyes and rolling the ball home with nonchalant ease - failed him. It would have been boring if it worked, after all.

Alas, Hazard - who was a perfect 9-of-9 from the spot in his Premier League career until the miss - was lucky enough to see the ball careen off the legs of Julian Speroni and right back to him.

The second time, he made no mistake. Hazard nodded the ball into the bottom corner beyond an unfortunate Speroni, wiping his brow as he wheeled away in celebration of a goal that he surely knew would be enough to capture the hardware.

(Courtesy: Reuters)

The title, Chelsea's first since 2009-10, is the fifth league triumph in club history - and their fourth in the Premier League era, which began in 1992.

Jose Mourinho, arguably the most polarizing figure in the entire sport, captures the third EPL title of his illustrious, trophy-laden managerial career, adding to an increasingly clustered cabinet.

This one, according to the Portuguese bench boss, means more than any of his seven prior league championships.

"It would mean a lot because we have lots of young players and it would be the first title for them, people that don't know what it is to be a champions, so I want this one a lot and if we clinch the title, at that moment I will be much more happy for them than for myself," Mourinho told reporters ahead of Sunday's contest.

The joy and happiness that accompanies winning: now there's something that will never get boring.

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