Chelsea labour into higher gear

Chelsea moved onto the shoulder of second-placed Manchester United with a routine victory over Brighton, and with only one game remaining in the calendar year there is still an opportunity for the champions to end 2017 in a positive mood despite the reality that their title is long gone.

Second-half goals from Alvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso took Chelsea to within a point of United, who drew at home to Burnley, with a highly winnable home game to come against Stoke at the Bridge on Saturday; and it was enough for the chants of “Antonio, Antonio” to ring out again.

Chelsea supporters should be happy after the remarkable achievements of last season — allied to this campaign’s comfortable progress in the Champions league — and yet the mood in west London has been muted for weeks. Partly because of the form of runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City and partly because of the team’s frustrating inconsistency.