Mourinho’s text book defense as Chelsea beats Spurs 2-0 in Capital One Cup

Two years without a trophy for Chelsea coach Mourinho. This final against Spurs was an opportunity to get an early one while in the run for many more. Mourinho coming into this final knew how dangerous Tottenham was. The 5-3 loss to the hands of Pochettino’s team was fresh on Chelsea’s mind

The game was all Spurs in the opening minutes. They were aggressive in the midfield with Bentaleb and Mason playing side by side. Eriksen, Chadli and Townsend played just ahead of them in a 5 man midfield. Mourinho had to switch things in his midfield with Matic out and Obi injured. Zoom was pushed forward in the holding while Ramirez was given luxury to move forward. Tottenham looked really good on the ball but were waste full in the final third. Eriksen had a good opportunity as he saw his free kick smash the cross bar. Meanwhile Chelsea was dangerous on free kicks as well as corner kicks. The formation they had gave them height advantage over Spurs

Lack of concentration and lazy play from Chadli resulted into a lousy foul. He had his back to the ball and was hoping it went out. Have was forced to foul Ivanovic just minutes to the first half. That resulted into a free kick in a dangerous area. Spurs were playing zone and had an opportunity to clear the ball twice, They failed to and the loose ball fell onto a wide open Terry who could not miss from close

Walker sustained an injury that left him exposed to the pace of Hazard and Costa. Pochettino decided to stick to the right back and that might have exposed them on the second goal. Costa collected a wide pass from Cesc and he used his speed and elusiveness to beat Walker easily. His strike was deflected and it beat Llioris on the first goal. That goal was a vital one for Chelsea who looked really strong at the back although outplayed high in the midfield. Spurs had many crosses in the box with no one at the end of it. Kane had little or no help in the last third of the field.

Great tactical game from Mourinho who had 6 defensive minder players in the game and also had the height advantage. Runs through the midfield were met by Zouma who was huge in the midfield. This was a typical Mourinho game. Spurs had possession but were always vulnerable on free kicks and the counter. No shame for Tottenham as they played with heart till the last minute. Not much of an exiting game but effective as Mourinho ends 2 year drought. Good day for Chelsea as Liverpool beat their rivals Manchester city in the race of the EPL tittle