The mood at Stamford Bridge was unequivocal. The final trill from Mike Dean’s whistle sparked enough celebration to suggest that it is no longer a case of ‘if’ but ‘when’ Chelsea win the Premier League. But while this victory over Manchester City was, in effect, a title-winning evening it was not really a title-winning performance.

Chelsea can feel they got away with one here, encountering a City side that was a combination of undercooked – as Pep Guardiola’s men have looked for much of the campaign – and half-cooked, in terms of ideas.

Antonio Conte’s stellar first season has shone a light on the underachievement of both Jose Mourinho, his predecessor, and Guardiola himself, another star young coach who was installed at the same time but has seen his team fall way short of Chelsea’s standard.

Some of that is to be expected.

Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Thibaut Courtois - 4 Horrendous mistake for the first goal, completely mistiming his punch. Was solid in every other part of his game but matches of this magnitude are often won and lost on the small details. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Branislav Ivanovic - 6 Terrible first half performance that included three terrible errors that, fortunately for Chelsea, went unpunished. Made up for that with a brilliant pass to find Hazard for the goal and was much better after half-time. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings John Terry - 7 Made one bad error when he got underneath a long ball to allow Aguero through on goal but again proved he is the best English defender out there. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Kurt Zouma - 8 Still has huge room for improvement but the 20-year-old has all the tools to become one of the very best in the world. Deserves to be keeping England's first-choice centre-back on the sidelines. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta - 5 Jesus Navas had the better of his compatriot all evening. Azpilicueta was beaten in a way Chelsea fans have not often seen. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Nemanja Matic - 8 Stepped up his game in the absence of Fabregas to put in a complete midfield performance. Truly great on and off the ball, the giant Serbian was the best player on the park. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Ramires - 7 Held his position well as the holding midfielder and only made the occasional burst forward, Ramires was very good but its hard to argue that the Blues missed the wizardry of Cesc Fabregas. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Willian - 5 Hassled and harried his way through the 90 minutes, Willian was excellent in the defensive and middle thirds of the field but produced little to nothing in areas where he could do damage. Set-pieces delivery was also poor. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Oscar - 6 Another who failed to produce in the final third, Oscar played deeper than he has done for the most part this season which blunted his effectiveness Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Eden Hazard - 6 Brilliant in the first 45, causing all sorts of problems for Bacary Sagna but was extremely quiet after the break as City closed off the space around the dangerous Belgian. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Loic Remy - 7 Was brilliant in the lone striker role, holding the ball up well to bring his team-mates into the game. Great movement to find space for the goal, it was a shame for Chelsea that the trio behind him starved the striker of service. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Joe Hart - 6 Nothing he could do about the goal and was hardly tested otherwise by the home side. Looked reasonably solid throughout, bar one dodgy kick. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Bacary Sagna - 6 Struggled in the first half against Hazard but grew into it as it went on, to snuff out the Hazard threat. Combined excellently with Jesus Navas. Lost Hazard for the goal. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Vincent Kompany - 7 Defender manfully, though he wasn't always the most comfrotable in possession. In truth, Chelsea didn't offer much threat. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Martin Demichelis - 7 Had an excellent match but went to sleep to allow Loic Remy to steal into yards of space for the goal. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Gael Clichy - 8 Didn't put a foot wrong on the left and never gave Willian the chance to do anything of note in the final third. Offered a good outlet going forward as well. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Fernandinho - 7 Was one of the best City performers with a display full of energy and purpose. Pushed the visitors forward, passed well and was not averse to stopping Chelsea by any means necessary. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Fernando - 7 Gave Matic as good as he got in midfield and provided the City defence with superb cover throughout the game. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Jesus Navas - 7 Gave Cesar Azpilicueta the hardest game he's played all season but for all the occasions he beat his opposite number he failed to deliver that telling ball. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings James Milner - 7 Barely troubled Ivanovic as an attacking force but you can't downplay his importance to the City cause as a worker and defender. Getty Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings David Silva - 7 Was not able to offer his usual craft when in possession as he was well marshalled by Matic and Ramires, but got an absolutely vital touch to turn Aguero's shot past Ivanovic. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Sergio Aguero - 5 Five games since returning from injury and the usually lethal striker is misfiring. Latched on to a Terry mistake to race through on goal for a chance that a pre-injury Aguero would have tucked away - he fired wide. Chelsea vs Manchester City player ratings Frank Lampard - 5 The stage looked set for another Lampard goal against his former club but it was not to be. Given a great ovation at the end from his former supporters. Getty Images

Chelsea have played significantly fewer games than their top six rivals by virtue of being so unspeakably poor last year. The absence of European football has given Conte a lot of breathing space and time on the training ground, priceless if you are a manager drilling a new tactical approach into your squad.

Guardiola, battling on multiple fronts, has had less time with his charges and it shows. But it still doesn’t explain away the world of difference between these two sides over the whole campaign.

On the night, though, the difference wasn’t that big. It was an average performance from a side with purpose and direction up against an average performance from a side who sparkle, fizzle out and then snap. City remain confusing, summed up by Pep Guardiola’s curious selection and his extravagant touchline grappling with his own emotions.

Debate over the Catalan, and what he must do better next season, is for another time though. Tonight felt very much like it was about Chelsea and the final whistle was greeted with more than the usual roar. This, they felt, was it.

Putting 14 points between themselves and City turned out to be easier than Chelsea would probably have imagined. The sky blues didn’t have a clear chance after going behind, the closest being John Stones’ late header that was straight at Thibaut Courtois.

Eden Hazard was the star of the show (Getty)

But otherwise, for a side so blessed with attacking talent, there wasn’t that much. The goal came from a Courtois error. Leroy Sane ran through one-on-one after David Silva’s exquisite pass at 1-1 and that could have been the turning point. A sliding doors moment.

And yet it never felt like being City’s day. They felt like the guests at Chelsea’s title pre-party. The evening was not a coronation, but it was the starting point of the countdown to the inevitable.

Chelsea weren’t outstanding but they didn’t need to be. Instead they were controlling, frustrating and strong. As they have been all season.

Tottenham will no doubt be buoyed by their comeback win over Swansea, and with good reason.

But the gap seems too big to make up. Chelsea seem too good. Stamford Bridge seems too sure.