The Blues got their hands on the trophy, expertly.
Chelsea eased to victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening, with John Terry and Diego Costa delivering the goods, and securing their first trophy of the season.
We take a look at six top things we learned from the Blues’ expert victory over Mauricio Pochettino’s men…
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(Video) Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham Capital One Cup Highlights: John Terry & Diego Costa Grab Goals In Wembley Triumph
Jose Mourinho does what he wants
Less of something learned – rather an excellent reminder of the Chelsea manager’s ingenuity.
The Portuguese was without midfield general Nemanja Matic, with the Serbian suspended following a reaction to Burnley’s Ashley Barnes’ horror-challenge, who has been a regular in an outstanding Blues midfield – but Mourinho knew exactly how to cope without their star man.
In bringing Kurt Zouma into midfield, he ignored any inevitable criticism from football fans over what could be considered a negative line-up – a position that many may have expected Oscar to step in to – and come the final whistle no one could question the decision.
John Terry shows no signs of easing up
The Blues captain is not a popular man in football – but one of Terry’s biggest strengths is – he doesn’t care.
At 34-years-old, many would be forgiven in believing the former England skipper could be on his last legs, yet during the last two campaigns under Mourinho, he has been superb.
Terry firmly remains the Stamford Bridge outfit’s, ‘Captain, Leader, Legend’ – backed up by his receiving of the man-of-the-match award.
Possession
Tottenham bossed the possession stats with 63% – and this was a reminder that keeping the ball does not reap rewards.
Spurs could have played on for another hour, and still wouldn’t have found the back of the net.
Chelsea are lucky to have Diego Costa
In Costa’s first final for the Stamford Bridge outfit, the striker didn’t change his ways, playing the only way he knows – with added aggression.
The former Atletico Madrid star didn’t allow the ban he received after stamping Emre Can in the semi-final over Liverpool affect his performance – and it was his deflected shot that settled the contest.
The forward tangled with Nabil Bentaleb and Kyle Walker, with Spurs clearly wanting to unsettle the Spanish international, although teams will have to try a little harder to upset the big man.
Kurt Zouma – The ‘New Marcel Desailly’?
A shaky start from the French central defender, in an unfamiliar role, was quickly forgotten.
Come the final-whistle, the move to bring him in alongside Ramires and Cesc Fabregas was considered an act of mastery by Mourinho, with the youngster settling as the game went on, sniffing out any Spurs attack.
Zouma could very well be Chelsea’s ‘New Marcel Desailly‘.
Harry Kane gets a reality check
The in-form Spurs striker, who has a stunning 24 goals in all competitions for the club in a signature season for the 21-year-old, failed to step up on big stage.
Though he had almost no service to work with, the defeat to Chelsea will have shown Kane what’s expected in the big games.
