We continue our ‘On this Day’ series with a belter for April 30 as Chelsea won their first title since 1955.
Why don’t we travel back to 2005 and see Chelsea clinch the Premier League title? Go on then!
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
Chelsea had gone 50 years without winning a league title but Jose Mourinho, in his first season as a manager in England, delivered their first PL trophy.
Frank Lampard scored twice in the second half as Chelsea beat Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium and sparked wild celebrations with their fans in the away end.
The current Chelsea manager remembers the day fondly, as celebrations on the pitch with owner Roman Abramovich, the staff and players continued long after the final whistle.
“It was something that gives you goose bumps when you look back. My parents where there on the day behind the goal which was different for me. They would normally sit in the hospitality or the directors’ box. That was great fate really because that is exactly where you would want to be with the way it developed. It was just madness in there. Fifty years of pent-up excitement from our fans, you could feel it with the players. When the first one went in, I know Bolton had a chance after that, but you felt like that was it and it was just a party atmosphere. It is something I will always treasure. They are not my best technical goals but emotionally it is right up there at the top.
“Celebrating as a group, you see the subs jumping on and Jose Mourinho running down the line. The Chelsea away fans are incredible. The Chelsea fans are generally but the away fans that travel, I had them there when I broke the goalscoring record and sometimes you want to do those things at the Bridge but to do them away, you get those fans who go through the years travelling and spend their money and support Chelsea when we go up north on a Monday night mid-season, and then they come to games like that which are memories for a life-time.”
Check out the video below to see highlights, as Chelsea’s legendary 2004-05 title-winning side finished on 95 points and lost just one of their 38 games.
"Very deservedly, champions of the Premier League"#OnThisDay in 2005, @ChelseaFC secured their first #PL 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qA6FcnLBCe
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 30, 2020