Chelsea crowned Premier League champions as Michy Batshuayi claimed late winner

Chelsea clinched their fifth Premier League title on Friday night with a 1-0 win over West Brom at the Hawthorns after Michy Batshuayi came off the bench to grab the winning goal.

The Belgian international, a peripheral figure for much of the campaign, notched only his second league goal for the Blues in the 82nd minute to secure the win over Tony Pulis' side.

Antonio Conte and his players then led mass celebrations in front of their jubilant away supporters after the final whistle was blown.

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The Blues were crowned champions after sealing a 1-0 away win over West Brom at The Hawthorns

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Cesar Azpilicueta, Gary Cahill and David Luiz lead the celebrations as Chelsea enjoy their night of triumph

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Match-winner Michy Batshuayi holds a camera and takes a picture of the away fans celebrating their Premier League triumph

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Chelsea players slide on the grass in front of the away end as they continue their title celebrations

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Thibaut Courtois (centre) leaps in between Willian and Eden Hazard as Marcos Alonso (left) stretches his arms out wide 

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Antonio Conte applauds the away fans as the Chelsea players and staff dive onto the pitch at the end of the game

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Striker Diego Costa enjoys the victory moment alongside Terry, Willian and Azpilicueta

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Chelsea skipper Terry touches the badge on his chest after signing off with a fifth Premier League title

And speaking after the game to Sky Sports, midfielder Cesc Fabregas summed up the thoughts of everyone connected to the club when he declared: 'Football is f****** unbelievable.'

The Spaniard said: 'I thought it was going to be one of those days. We had so many chances in the first half and then we got a bit nervous.

'The beauty of football, a player who didn't play a lot scores the winning goal for the championship. Football is f****** unbelievable.'

Blues skipper Gary Cahill praised his team-mates, insisting they deserved their success.

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Chelsea manager Conte is thrown in the air by the players after the Blues secured the league title at West Brom

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Chelsea skipper Terry is thrown into the air as the players celebrate in front of the away supporters

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Chelsea forward Pedro strikes a pose as he thrown up into the air following the final whistle at West Brom

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Midfielder N'Golo Kante is serenaded by his team-mates after securing a second successive Premier League title

He said: 'These are times in football. These opportunities that you want to grasp with both hands. You just want to cherish them. 

'Consistently I think we've been the best team in the league. There's no better feeling than this in football. 

'People have written us off as a team and individually and this has shut them up. We are champions. It's another one in the cabinet.'

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Costa, David Luiz, Eden Hazard and Willian celebrate in the dressing room as they bask in their glory

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Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois takes a selfie alongside midfielder Cesc Fabregas as they celebrate victory

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Conte is greeted by jubilant celebrations in the dressing room as his players prepare to give him a soaking

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Chelsea star duo Hazard and Pedro pose for the camera after securing their Premier League winners' medals

Club captain John Terry, who has spent most of the season on the substitutes' bench, revealed he was proud of the newly crowned champions.

'These boys have been on the field doing it week in week out. It's been a delight to sit and watch, a different perspective.

'The togetherness was shown from day one.'

Antonio Conte, who became the fourth manager to win the Premier League in his first season in charge, added: 'I think this achievement is a great achievement for the players, my players. 

'I want to show thanks for their commitment and their desire to do something this season. After this win I think we must be happy for this season.'

The Italian cited his reversion to the 3-4-3 formation in September after a run of bad form as key to the club's charge to the title. 

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The Chelsea players enjoy their celebrations in the away dressing room at The Hawthorns after the final whistle

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Team-mates and Brazilian countrymen Diego Costa and Willian celebrate sealing their second Premier League title

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Striker Costa enjoyed himself after the game as he stripped off his kit and savoured the moment

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Chelsea stars David Luiz, Marcos Alonso and Willian looked like they were enjoying themselves after the game

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Spanish team-mates Cesc Fabregas and Pedro enjoy the title-winning moment together after the final whistle

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Chelsea stars Diego Costa and David Luiz pose for a selfie in the away dressing room at the Hawthorns on Friday night

‘That decision changed our season. We had to change and find a new suit for our team. In my mind there was this option to play a 3-4-3 because I knew I had the players to do that.

‘We were not lucky, we did a great job. It's important to rest. It is a great season but now we can win the FA Cup.

‘Every game I feel like I have played with my players! I show my passion and my will, my desire to stay with my players in every moment of the game. This is me, I am this.

‘In the present, in the past, I stay with my players in positive and negative situations. We won this title together.’ 

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Chelsea's Spanish contingent Marcos Alonso, Pedro and Cesc Fabregas pose for a picture in the dressing room

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Kurt Zouma and Kante were all smiles as they grinned for the camera following Friday night's win

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Frank Lampard enjoyed Chelsea's winning moment and posted a picture of himself in front of the away fans on Instagram

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Chelsea star Willian's father was spotted in the away end watching his son secure his second title with the club

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Conte was joined by his touchline opponent Tony Pulis and Sky Sports presenter Geoff Shreeves for a glass of wine

This Frank Lampard video will make all Chelsea fans emotional

He came off the bench, made a trademark run into the box, and smashed the ball into the top corner – only this time it was a goal scored against Chelsea. But what happened after goal was an outpour of emotions that only a true Chelsea fan can understand.

Watch the incredible moment here:

Jose Mourinho: Chelsea can dominate the Premier league for a decade

The Portuguese is content with the squad he has assembled at Stamford Bridge, having splashed the cash this summer, and is confident he can build a dynasty in west London

Jose Mourinho has warned his title rivals that Chelsea can dominate the Premier League for the next decade.

The Blues have acted swiftly and decisively in the summer transfer window, recruiting Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis and Didier Drogba for nearly €90 million ahead of the new season, leading Mourinho to claim that he is finally content with the personnel at his disposal.

And, having repeatedly written off his “little horses” in 2013-14, he has now insisted that he can build a dynasty at Stamford Bridge, given the potential in his squad.

“We have the squad that we want to have,’ he told reporters. “It is a squad for tomorrow, for next season and also a squad with big possibilities for the next five or 10 years with so many young people.

"So, I like my squad very much. There is no manager in the world that has the perfect squad. No manager that says 'My squad is perfect' or couldn't improve in certain positions.

"The only thing I can say is that I like very much the squad. The club was fantastic because it gave me the three targets I was asking, in the left-back, a midfield player and a striker.

"In fact, it gave me two strikers because Didier is also back. So we have the squad that we want to have, we don't say it's perfect, we don't say it's the best, we say we like very much our squad."

Chelsea finished third in 2013-14 and kick off the new season with a trip to newly-promoted Burnley on Monday.

Demba Ba's Besiktas Breakthrough

Beşiktaş JK wrote a new chapter in the history of their club by beating Feyenoord 3-1 on Wednesday – the first time they had knocked a Dutch team out of European competition.

Already leading their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie 2-1 following an away victory in Rotterdam, Beşiktaş completed their progress to the play-offs with three goals from Demba Ba. The new signing from Chelsea FC, making his debut start, was thereby the first Beşiktaş player to score a European hat-trick.

Ba is already turning out to be a brillant capture for them.

When Beşiktaş opted not to renew the contract of Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida, several candidates were rumoured to be his replacement. Ba's name certainly made people excited but also worried them at the same time, due to failed medicals scuppering previous moves. But Ba completed the transfer and although he did not have a shot as a substitute last week at Feeyenoord, he more than made up for that at the Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadium.

Olcay Şahan, who set up Ba's second goal, said: "Ba has had very good understanding with the team since the first day. He is a very nice person too." Coach Slaven Bilić added that Ba could be getting even better. "We have spoken to him many times. He is not 100% but fit to play."

Ba himself said: "My team-mates are helping me a lot. I have established good bonds with them in such a short time. They are doing their utmost to ease my job and everybody is trying to shorten my adaptation period.

"To be honest, at the end of the game I was a little tired and I felt it. Still, I tried to do my best. Starting from next week, I expect my adaptation to get a major boost."

If Ba keeps up this form, he could join Beşiktaş's cult pantheon with another signing from west London: Les Ferdinand, who spent 1988/89 on loan at the Black Eagles from Queens Park Rangers FC and scored 14 times.

Catch Ba's goals here and the full game highlights.

Are Chelsea going to regret another one of their striker selling?

James Rodriguez would prefer Real Madrid over Barcelona

Colombian winger James Rodriguez has expressed his desire to play in Spain, and favours a move to Real Madrid over Barcelona or Atletico Madrid. 

After some sensational performances in the FIFA World Cup 2014, the interest in the young Colombian winger is strong, with clubs like Man Utd, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Napoli, Chelsea, Spurs etc. keeping close tabs and monitoring the situation.

Speaking to Spanish radio station, Cadena Cope, the 22-year-old was quoted by Goal saying, "I would love to play in Spain. It would be a dream to play there – it is the best league in the world."

When asked if he had a certain club in mind, he said, “I prefer Madrid to Barcelona."

Sky Sports’ Spanish correspondent Guillem Balague confirmed the story:

James Rodriguez: "I prefer Real Madrid to Barcelona". He did not waste much time positioning himself

— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) June 28, 2014

Rodriguez is certainly the talk of the town after he heroically led his team to a comprehensive  2-0 win over Uruguay, taking them to their very first quarterfinal in their FIFA World Cup history. His brace also took him to the top of the Golden Boot race, with a total of five goals to his name along with two assists. 

He had recently moved to Ligue 1 side Monaco from Porto after the French club paid €45 million for him, and are less likely to off-load him unless Real Madrid comes up with an offer they won’t want to refuse.

So is Bale's record transfer fee going to get shattered soon, let us know your views below in the comments.