John Terry got the send-off he wanted, Chelsea got their
hands on the Premier League trophy and Thibaut Courtois and César Azpilicueta
achieved their personal milestones. This was a day for those inside Stamford
Bridge and to hell with the cynics outside.
Champions Chelsea comfortably secured a record 30th League
win of the season against relegated Sunderland, but the game was largely a
sideshow to the pre-planned party.
Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford agreed to punt the
ball out of play in the 26th minute, so that Chelsea could form a guard of
honour for their No 26, Terry, to be replaced by Gary Cahill.
Purists will still be complaining of the final game of the
season descending into farce, but Chelsea’s supporters who hung banners that
read ‘JT thank you for everything’ and ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ loved every
minute.
With 717 Chelsea appearances to his name and the chance to
earn a 16th winners’ medal in next Saturday’s FA Cup final that he will most
probably watch from the substitutes’ bench, Terry had earned the right to time
his Stamford Bridge farewell just the way he wanted.
Having lifted the Premier League trophy with Cahill, Terry
was given the microphone and it was no surprise that the tears flowed as he
assured the Stamford Bridge faithful that, one day, he will be back.
“You’ve given me everything from day one, when I first
started out,” said 36-year-old Terry, who had his wife Toni and his children on
the pitch. “You picked me up when I was down, sung my name when I’ve had bad
days and disappointed you as well.
“Thank you will never ever be enough, but I’ll tell you
what: I’ll be back here one day. I’m going to be supporting the players and the
club from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much, I love you all.”
“I wish, for him and
for his family, the best in the future. For me, for the club, it would be a
great loss next season without him. He helped me a lot this season, on and off
the pitch. And now we must respect his decision.”
“A lot of emotions today,” said Conte. “I think it’s great
to finish the season this way, to celebrate a fantastic season. We won the
League with 30 wins, which is very positive for us. Honestly, it was very
difficult to imagine this, to be celebrating winning the League, but it
happened. It happened only because we worked very hard.”
Rather than travelling back with his squad, Moyes was due to
stay in London for a meeting with Sunderland owner Ellis Short on Monday and
was non-committal on his future.
“I’m gutted we’ve been relegated, really disappointed the
way the season’s gone,” said Moyes. “But you know? What do you do? Football has
winners and it has people who lose. Look at Chelsea. They’re winning today. I
hope in the future we’re involved in something similar.”
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