Chelsea won their first trophy of the season with a 2-0 victory over Spurs at Wembley in the Capital One Cup final. Goals from John Terry and Diego Costa, the latter helped by a deflection from Kyle Walker, helped the Blues on their way to silverware, as they controlled the game despite early pressure from Spurs.
The big news pre match was Jose Mourinho deciding to start the game with five defenders, with both Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel both unavailable for the game. Kurt Zouma was picked to play in defensive midfield, and he played alongside Ramires in the middle of the park. Oscar was left on the bench, as Cesc Fabregas took up the number 10 role behind Costa.
Costa was the most involved Chelsea player in the early stages, but it was Spurs who dominated this period of the game. It looked like Mourinho’s midfield gamble had backfired through most of the first half, but then John Terry made the difference. The ball fell to him at a corner kick, and his shot deflected in to give the Premier League leaders the advantage at half time.
Mourinho’s side took control in the second period, and 10 minutes in they doubled their lead. Fabregas played in Costa, who pulled in to space and fired home, putting the Blues ahead. It took a huge deflection off Walker, leaving Hugo Lloris helpless in goal.
Spurs looked to be paying the toll for their game in Italy on Thursday night, as they lost a Europa League tie with Fiorentina. After Mohammed Salah scored in that game, they were probably sick of the sight of Chelsea forwards, but they had a few to contend with in this contest. In the end, they couldn’t match up to Mourinho’s side, who made their class pay.
With Manchester City losing at Anfield in the early game, that capped off a fantastic day for Chelsea. They are now five points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand, with some silverware now in the cabinet. That was the Blues’ first trophy since May 2013, when they won the Europa League.
It was also a first trophy for Mourinho after almost a three-year wait. His last win came in 2012 as Real Madrid won La Liga, and the manager called this his most important final to date. He’ll surely be happy with the victory, getting back to winning ways and giving his side a huge morale boost before the title run in and latter stages of the Champions League.
After the game, the manager said, “My players strategically were fantastic, I have a certain concept about the final and obviously we cannot win every final but finals are not to play they are to win. We had a team not everyone was expecting but we had a team with a great balance, very compact in midfield, we pressed them very well. We didn’t have problems, they had a couple of chances. The free-kick (with which Christian Eriksen hit the bar) and nothing else, we controlled the game really well. We knew we would be dangerous on the counter, I was expecting more, but I think we played like we should play a final.”
LCN Man of the Match: John Terry