Its over. Its all over. The title dream, the overwhelming hyperbole; Chelsea’s run to the top of the league is over.

In a way, that is. In many other ways it really isn’t. Five points clear at the top even after a defeat to Tottenham, Antonio Conte’s Blues are still looking pretty cosy. The perception around the 2014/15 champions will be rather different now that the 13-win run has come to an end. Questions will understandably be asked and their momentum has, undoubtedly, been stunted. The tidal wave that was driving Chelsea towards a supposedly inevitable title has becalmed, for now at least.

The performances throughout their history-making run of results have been up and down, though, which may give hope for the chasing pack that an exciting title race is still possible. It is not beyond the realms of possibility, that’s for sure.

Even with the need to recover from a gut-wrenching loss to Spurs, Chelsea’s five point lead at this stage of the campaign still makes them sure-fire favourites. Injuries have yet to really trouble them, but the lack of European football means fixture congestion is not a concern for the remainder of the 2016/17 campaign.

Not bad for Conte, then. On the assumption that Diego Costa’s troublesome hamstrings will not be overworked and Eden Hazard can pleasantly rest between his weekly 90 minutes of jinking and hard knocks, squad management is unlikely to be an issue. Only Liverpool have the same assurances of rest periods during the second half of the season, while Arsenal and Manchester City face daunting Champions League clashes.

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One bad result does not make a season, but the reaction to such a result certainly can do. The end to such a famed winning streak will hit the club hard. A break between Premier League matches may well help, though, and a trip to visit Leicester City next time out presents a very realistic chance to return to the normalities of victory, struggling as they are.

This early in a season, and with Chelsea showing fallibilities of late, the title race is still very much alive. Not as alive as the relegation tussle, mind, but there is still hope for a to-the-wire finish at the Premier League summit. There is every chance, too, that Chelsea reboard their runaway train and win the title some time in April. The January window could yet prove pivotal for both the Blues and the chasing pack, too.

2017 will not see a shock Premier League winner, that’s one thing we can at least guarantee. Leicester are kind of unlikely to retain their title and the closest we will come to that sort of remarkable tale is if Chelsea manage to not win the league. Conte’s team have coped under the pressure of leading English football thus far, but this is another great test of their credentials. The strongest teams in league football are those who recover best from disappointment. Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho’s previous Premier League dominance was based on turning defeat into a run of victory; Conte’s side might just do the same.

Chelsea’s name is far from etched into the trophy, but the fact is that Spurs and their victory still seem irrelevant to the title race at this juncture. It will still be a shock if the trophy is in anyone other than John Terry’s hands come May.

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