Message from Mourinho: Watch your backs

The day after Arsenal effectively conceded the championship, Chelsea travelled to Blackburn — ‘‘up north’’, in Ferguson’s ominous words — and came back with a 1-0 win. Lost amid the bare-chested post-match celebrations was one statistic: four minutes into that match Petr Cech broke Peter Schmeichel’s Premiership record of 694 minutes with conceding a goal. The record now stands at 781 minutes, almost nine matches on the trot.

And in that statistic, in the Goals Against column more than the Goals Scored, lies the story of Chelsea’s success, and the chief reason why they are such overwhelming favourites to lift the Premiership trophy come May. Robben and Duff have thrilled but the back five have thwarted.

Indeed, don’t bet against Chelsea breaking another record this season: the least goals conceded. They have let in eight so far; the record, set by Liverpool, is 16.

It is easy to forget, in the backdrop of Arsenal’s brilliance last season and Manchester United’s thrilling football in their treble-winning year and subsequently, that scoring goals is only half the business (and, as Real Madrid can testify, not always good business). Championship-winning teams — especially those involved in three-way races — build from the back.

One needn’t go too far back in time to look at examples: Manchester United’s domination of the Premiership was based on a bedrock of three players: Schmeichel, Bruce and Pallister, the latter two the key central defensive pairing. The spotlight was on Cantona and Hughes but the real stars played at the back.

United’s bad seasons of late have come about because of defensive problems. This season began the way the last season ended: on a bad note, and both times because of Ferdinand’s absence from suspension. In 2002, they were undone by the bizarre goalkeeping habits of Fabien Barthez.

Arsenal fans, too, would admit — if they search deep down inside — of just how safe they felt, of just how much confidence they had in their team’s winning abilities, not over 90 minutes but over a season (for that is the real currency of football), when they had the Famous Five in their defence. They may not have had Henry, Pires and Reyes but they would not have blown a lead as they did in 2003 and as they look like doing now.

Even during their glorious unbeaten run Arsenal always looked like they could be beaten by any team that stood up to them. Manchester United did it in the FA Cup, Chelsea — Old Chelsea, at that — in the Champions League. Wenger’s avowed policy — they score one, we score two — had its limitations.

New Chelsea are not just an expensive upgrade on Claudio Ranieri’s team; they are a completely new model, organically different to anything the luckless Italian put out. Cech, for one, is the best example of just how important a good ’keeper is to a team. There was an opinion that Chelsea were being indulgent buying him when they already had Carlo Cudicini, last season’s best keeper in the Premiership. Now we know better.

True, Mourinho inherited most of the others — Gallas, Terry, Bridge — but he took a bunch of good defenders, added a couple more and made them a great back four. With plenty of cover to spare.

There is still some distance left in this Premiership season and Chelsea face their first real test — on two counts — on Sunday. They host Manchester City, the only team to beat them in the league so far, and they do so without Robben, out injured for the next two weeks.

It shouldn’t perturb Mourinho too much (if at all anything perturbs him). He knows a goal will come from somewhere, maybe even from Terry who has seven in all matches this season. Then it’s back to the back five.

It almost sounds easy.