Five matches that won Chelsea the Premier League title

Burnley 1 Chelsea 3, August 18 2014

In many ways the opening game of the season summed up Chelsea’s season. Looked comfortable, went behind to a shock goal, scored three times in a devastating 17-minute burst at Turf Moor through Diego Costa, Andre Schurrle and Branislav Ivanovic, and then were content to cruise for the rest of the match to pick up their first three points of the year.

Everton 3 Chelsea 6, August 30, 2014

Frustration at Chelsea and Jose Mourinho’s defensive approach to wrapping up the title is based as much in the fact that they were capable of playing such fast-flowing attacking football when they wanted. Putting six past Everton in August highlighted this, with one of the best defences in the league in the 2013/14 unable to cope with the vigour of Chelsea’s forward play.

In pictures: Chelsea crowned champions

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 1, September 2014

On paper this was a disappointing result as Frank Lampard’s goal on his first appearance against his old employers denied Chelsea the three points. But Mourinho’s side were impressive against the league champions, and demonstrated the compact, counter-attacking display that would frustrate their title rivals throughout the season with City, Arsenal and Manchester United failing to beat them in the six games they played against the other sides in the top four.

Swansea City 0 Chelsea 5, January 17, 2015

Chelsea had not been impressive over the Christmas period and had been left reeling by a surprise 5-3 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on New Year’s Day. They had allowed their early points advantage over to Manchester City, but a 5-0 victory at Swansea City, with four goals in the first 39 minutes, demonstrated there was no crisis at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0, April 26, 2015

It may not have been pretty by any means, but Chelsea put on a defensive masterclass at the Emirates Stadium to quash the last lingering threat to their title dreams. Arsenal were the form team in the league, winning their previous eight games and scoring 18 goals, but they were shut out by a strong Chelsea defence led by John Terry.

gcaygill@thenational.ae

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

England-South Africa Test series

1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London

2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham

3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London

4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester

Federer's 19 grand slam titles

Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal

French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling

Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic

US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray

Army of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera

Three stars

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

Edinburgh, Scotland
Westminster, London
Camden, London
Glasgow, Scotland
Islington, London
Kensington and Chelsea, London
Highlands, Scotland
Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Fife, Scotland
Tower Hamlets, London

Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.

The biog

Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show

Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can

Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home

Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big