Antonio Conte's decision to switch from a 4-1-4-1 formation to a 3-4-2-1 in the 55th minute of Chelsea's 3-0 defeat by Arsenal in September proved to be the turning point in last season's race for the Premier League title.
Yet another key factor behind the Blues' impressive triumph - which was their fifth since Roman Abramovich's takeover in 2003 - was a lack of European football, a benefit which was not shared by rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. As they seek to retain their crown in 2017/18, Conte's charges will probably find that the demands of the Champions League harm their chances of finishing on top of the pile at home for a second successive season.
Their Italian manager has experience of exactly that, back when he was boss of Juventus in his homeland. When the club's former midfielder was installed in Turin in the summer of 2011, expectations were uncharacteristically low among supporters of the most successful side in Serie A history. The Bianconeri had still not properly recovered from their enforced relegation to the second division for their role in the Calciopoli scandal in 2006; Juve had little trouble in securing an immediate return to the top tier of the Italian game and then finished third in 2007/08 and second in 2008/09, but the two campaigns prior to Conte's appointment were disappointing seventh-place finishes under a trio of coaches in Ciro Ferrara, Alberto Zaccheroni and Luigi Delneri.
Much like he did subsequently at Stamford Bridge, Conte made an immediate impact upon taking charge of Juve. The Old Lady, with no continental competition to concern themselves with, went unbeaten en route to their first Scudetto in seven years, amassing 84 points to edge out Milan in the fight for the title. Juventus increased their points tally by three in winning the league again the following year, before registering a remarkable 102 in 2013/14, which was Conte's final season at the helm before taking on the Italian national team job.
Yet for all their domestic success, Juventus were rather underwhelming in the Champions League under the now-47-year-old; granted, Conte was only involved in the tournament for two seasons, but he still struggled to help the Bianconeri translate their dominance in Serie A to Europe. Bayern Munich ran out comfortable 4-0 winners in their quarter-final clash with Juve in 2012/13, while Conte's side did not even make it through to the knockout rounds in 2013/14.
On one level, of course, it is entirely understandable that Juventus were not as strong in the Champions League, where the competition is much stronger than in the Italian top flight. Conte's successor Max Allegri has since taken the club to two European finals, though, while also continuing Juve's monopolisation of the Scudetto, and it will be interesting to see how the Chelsea boss copes with the task of balancing two major tournaments next term.
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