Jose Mourinho would be forgiven if he looked over his shoulder and felt like he was seeing an Antonio Conte silhouette, such is the Italian's habit of clearing up his rival's messes.
Walking out of Chelsea with the club hovering precariously above the relegation zone, Mourinho's squad was in turmoil, the culture was toxic, and fans labelled some of the stars 'rats'. It was fast-becoming one of the worst title defences of all time and as much credit as Mourinho had in the bank, it had all gone so badly wrong.
After a period of stabilisation under trusted interim boss Guus Hiddink - where they rallied to finish 10th - enter Antonio Conte, stage right.