Chelsea have the chance to be the scriptwriters once more. They are, as they so often have been, right in the mix to be there on the day that the title is decided once and for all.
For the sixth season in a row they won't be lifting the trophy. It's the biggest gap between title wins since Roman Abramovich took over the club and provides an accurate background of context for how far they have fallen since Antonio Conte's miraculous 2016/17 triumph.
That team was built on the back of league winners two seasons earlier, this squad is not even representative of any strand of the side that took itself to the summit of European football in 2021. The club is diametrically changed from the one that waltzed the final and bypassed Manchester City in Porto.
