Tottenham 2-0

Independent:

Capital One Cup final

Captain John Terry inspires Blues triumph at Wembley Stadium

Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0


In the rain at Wembley, Mourinho delighted in the triumph in a way that you might not expect of a man who has won two Champions League titles as well as league championships in four major European football countries. Afterwards he said that he had looked forward to this final as he had his very first as a manager at Porto 12 years ago. “I need to feed myself with titles,” he said, like a man unburdening himself to his therapist.

What really seemed to delight him was what Mourinho called the “strategic” element of his victory, namely his decision to replace the suspended Nemanja Matic by moving his centre-back Kurt Zouma into one of the two holding midfield roles. It would be right to say that it worked, to the extent that Mourinho compared the young Frenchman to Marcel Desailly, and that it worked so well seems to prove fundamental to the Chelsea manager.

“We were a strategic team, a team that came to win,” Mourinho said. “A team that was comfortable, a team that found a solution to keep the stability after the ‘criminal’ tackle that Matic did that got him suspended. We found that.”

It was a performance built on the leadership of John Terry, the one unchanging figure in the centre of the Chelsea defence, who scored the first goal and lunged in to block a shot from Harry Kane on 87 minutes. Terry had kept the young striker quiet for much of the game and that was integral to stopping Tottenham – and so it was that the Chelsea captain lifted the 12 major trophy of the Roman Abramovich era.

You could not help but notice that as Terry prepared to descend the Wembley steps with the trophy he felt a hand on his arm for one last congratulatory message and looked up to see the England manager, Roy Hodgson.

For all his pre-match rosary-bead kissing and po-faced touchline demeanour, Mourinho will have contested few cup finals when his plan was executed quite so smoothly and quite so clinically. When Diego Costa scored the second on 56 minutes, Spurs started to buckle and, among other things, that long trip to Italy in the Europa League for Thursday’s game against Fiorentina was taking its toll.

Mourinho began his press conference with a long unsolicited tribute to Mauricio Pochettino and when it was the Spurs manager turn to come in he seemed, at the very least, to be coming to terms with the defeat. He said that he had expected all along that either Gary Cahill, as per the pre-match rumours, or Zouma would play midfield, although it turned out there was little his team could do about stopping Chelsea.

For periods in the first half it looked like Spurs were going to take this game by the lapels, and they hit the bar through Christian Eriksen. But the truth of it for this young side was that the margin of defeat felt just about right. By the end they had thrown their best punches and landed none.

Pochettino pointed out that his team had an average age of just 23 and a half and tomorrow, his 43 birthday, he will be back out on the training pitch with them. Their problem in this cup final was that they never punished Chelsea. Unless you can score goals against them and, as Spurs showed on New Year’s Day, keep scoring goals, then they often find a way back.

In the first half, Kyle Walker and Andros Townsend were a threat down the right side of Chelsea’s defence. Kane tricked his way past three Chelsea players in that meticulous, slow-motion style of his, eventually winning the free-kick from which Eriksen hit the bar. But for all Spurs’ good work, that was all Petr Cech had to worry about.

Costa was his usual truculent self. He thrust a hand into the face of Nabil Bentaleb in the first half and he squared up to more white shirts than bears recounting. Eric Dier was unfortunate to pick up a booking for a pretty harmless challenge on Costa just after the half hour, although a more serious trip on the Chelsea man did follow and that went unpunished.

The goal arrived in the last minute of the first 45 when Nacer Chadli, anonymous for most of the game, made a mess of clearing a cross-field pass and fouled Branislav Ivanovic, overlapping behind him. The free-kick was Spurs’ downfall. Danny Rose got something on the ball when he would have been better off leaving it to Bentaleb behind him to clear. The deflected ball struck Dier and fell to Terry whose shot past Lloris clipped Dier on its way in.

In the second half, Chelsea took control. Kane was very effectively corralled by Terry and Cahill and in front of them, Zouma settled nicely into his role. The second goal from Costa came from a move that worked the ball from right to left quickly: Willian to Fabregas and onto Costa. He made the space for a left foot shot and the second major deflection of the day came off Walker and took the ball past Lloris.

By the end it felt a bit like a procession. Mourinho played up to the Chelsea support, while at the other end of Wembley the Spurs crowd trickled away. This was Mourinho’s sixth major trophy in English football – although he would add the 2005 Community Shield to that too – and his third League Cup. On days like these he does, it has to be said, make it look easy.

“I had two seasons without a trophy, and it looked like I was 20 years without a trophy. Even [for] myself,” Mourinho said afterwards. “This is a good problem, to have that feeling that two years is a long time. That's a good feeling.” This was trophy No 17 for the Chelsea manager and the mood was very much that there will be no relenting in the pursuit of No 18.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Zouma; Willian (Cuadrado, 76), Fabregas (Oscar, 88), Hazard; Costa (Drogba, 90).

Substitutes not used: Courtois (gk), Luis, Ake, Remy.

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Mason (Lamela, 71); Townsend (Dembele, 62), Eriksen, Chadli (Soldado, 80), Kane.

Substitutes not used: Vorm (gk), Fazio, Stambouli, Davies.

Booked: Chelsea Willian, Cahill, Cuadrado Tottenham Dier

Referee: A Taylor

Man of the match: Terry

Attendance: 89,297

Rating: 6


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Guardian:

John Terry drives Chelsea to Capital One Cup final win over Tottenham

Chelsea 2 - 0 Spurs

Daniel Taylor at Wembley


Quiz question: which football club played one match but won two trophies on the same afternoon? OK, let’s not completely rule out the possibility Chelsea might be overhauled in the Premier League but if there is a soft centre to this team they are doing pretty well at disguising it so far. The first trophy of José Mourinho’s second coming is on the board and it doesn’t feel presumptuous to think the second is starting to look like a fait accompli on the back of Manchester City’s latest act of generosity.

Mourinho and his players certainly had every right to milk those long celebrations at the end when the suspended Nemanja Matic appeared in full kit, emulating John Terry’s change of costume after the 2012 Champions League final, and Mourinho could be seen throwing himself on to a sodden pitch at the expense of another designer suit. The laundry bill won’t be cheap, but what are a few grass stains when the streets of west London should be preparing for another open-top bus parade?

Mourinho’s team had to withstand some concerted pressure before taking control of this final but once they were in charge they played with an expertise that made their opponents look callow. There is no better team when it comes to holding the lines, sizing up their opponents then gradually turning the screw. At times, it might not make for the most absorbing spectacle. Yet it is just one of the reasons why Mourinho hoards trophies in the way other people collect stamps. Chelsea have now won five League Cups, moving level with Aston Villa and putting them second only to Liverpool’s eight. Mourinho is responsible for three of them and it won’t bother him in the slightest that they did it with such a pair of scruffy goals.

For Spurs, this was the second competition they had exited in four days and the end housing their supporters was almost deserted by the time the beaten players went up to collect their medals. Mauricio Pochettino’s side started vibrantly but they had no response when Chelsea took the lead and, ultimately, the teams could be separated by the quality of their defending. John Terry and Gary Cahill, flanked by Branislav Ivanovic and César Azpilicueta, formed an impenetrable barrier in front of Petr Cech. Tottenham’s defence, in stark contrast, is still a work in progress.

The second goal was a particular ordeal for Kyle Walker because it did not need a sitting of the Dubious Goals Panel to realise that Diego Costa’s shot was heading across the six-yard area until the Spurs right-back jutted out his foot and inadvertently turned it into the gap between Hugo Lloris and the goalkeeper’s near post.

Yet it was the collective failure for the opening goal, one for the Dubious Defending Panel, that probably summed up the difference between the sides. There was a mistimed header, a couple of deflections and very little in the way of good luck, perhaps. Yet there was a degree of carelessness, too, and that is the point. John Terry made the decisive contact, lashing in the loose ball, then quickly went back to making sure his own defence was not so generous. His performance reminded us he is still the outstanding centre-half in the country, typified by that moment in the 87th minute when he, the oldest player on the pitch, could be seen throwing himself into a brilliant challenge to keep out Harry Kane.

Tottenham’s disappointment should be compounded by the fact they had actually been the better side until the first goal. Danny Rose was pushing forward from his left-back spot. Walker was doing the same on the right while Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason both started encouragingly. Kane also looked determined to leave his mark on the occasion. The striker eluded three Chelsea players with one early run and when the fourth, Cesc Fàbregas, chopped him down Christian Eriksen smacked the free-kick against the crossbar.

Chelsea certainly took their time to get going. Mourinho paid Kurt Zouma the ultimate compliment afterwards, describing him as “our new Marcel Desailly” but early on he looked slightly lost in his experimental position filling in for the suspended Matic. Eden Hazard was lively and keen to run at Walker but Chelsea struggled at first to exert their usual control and their attacking moments were notable mostly for the number of occasions when Costa, their troublemaker extraordinaire, became locked in the usual niggling duels.

Eric Dier was maybe a touch unfortunate to be booked for a challenge on the half-hour mark but, having been shown that yellow card, the centre-half was lucky his little kick on Costa at the end of the first half went unnoticed. Later, Dier jumped so high into the back of Azpilicueta his knee struck his opponent’s head and the Spaniard had to be bandaged for the rest of the match.

Everything started to unravel for Spurs a minute before half-time when Willian’s free-kick skimmed off Rose’s head, ricocheted off Dier and dropped invitingly for Terry. Dier did his best to make amends, desperately trying to charge down the shot, but the ball deflected off his instep and Terry had his sixth goal of the season.

Walker’s own goal arrived 11 minutes into the second half after Fàbregas’s pass had created the shooting opportunity for Costa, running through the left-hand channel. Spurs did briefly try to spirit a late comeback but there was not enough from Kane and Eriksen to threaten such a parsimonious defence and there was an air of inevitability for the last half an hour. “The perfect day”, Mourinho called it, with the mud still visible on his suit.

Man of the match John Terry (Chelsea)


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Telegraph:

Capital One Cup final - Jose Mourinho claims the 21st trophy of his career as Chelsea show Tottenham no mercy with a clinical victory at Wembley

It was the 2005 League Cup triumph that really launched Jose Mourinho’s first successful spell at Chelsea and he is at it again a decade on in his second coming at the club.

Mourinho may even have taken a huge step towards a second trophy on the same day, following the damaging defeat endured by Chelsea’s title rivals, Manchester City, at Liverpool.

Although forbidden by Mourinho from trying to find out the final score from Anfield, Chelsea’s players knew of City’s demise after their goal­keeping coach, Silvinho Louro, revealed the result on the way to Wembley. Their day just got better and better.

At the final whistle, Mourinho punched the air elaborately; he knew how much this meant, this statement of intent individually and collectively. A coach inextricably associated with the accumulation of trophies was back in business with his first trophy since steering Real Madrid to La Liga in 2012.

Mourinho watched John Terry lead the players up, the captain followed by Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill, then the rest including Nemanja Matic, the suspended Serb who probably broke Terry’s own record for changing into Chelsea kit in time for the trophy celebrations.

Terry shared the trophy-lifting ­honours with Drogba. The League Cup was then passed along the line, being hoisted to the skies by player after player, until arriving at some of Chelsea’s tracksuited youngsters. Izzy Brown politely chose not to lift it, instead passing it straight to Mourinho, who insisted that Brown and Andreas Christensen share the moment. If Mourinho is truly to establish a new blue order, such prospects need embracing. Chelsea need the path from the Academy to the first-team dressing room to become well-worn.

Mourinho, who has promised to give them a chance, then carried the trophy down to the pitch and across to the quickly assembled stage where the players were waiting. Mourinho placed the cup on the plinth, and then threw himself down in front as the photographers went into overdrive.

As Chelsea partied to their greatest hits, “One Step Beyond”, “Blue is the colour” and “Blue Day”, Mourinho signalled to his son, wearing a Willian 22 shirt, to have his picture taken with the players and the trophy. Chelsea fans loved it.

The vanquished had long departed, the fans to drown their sorrows, the players retreating to the dressing room, yet there were plenty of reasons for Tottenham to be hopeful for the future. Youthful dynamism embodies Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino. Danny Rose and Eric Dier, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen should grow into a unit of genuine substance under Pochettino.

They never showed their true class here, never displayed the type of energy that accounted for Chelsea on New Year’s Day. Maybe it was the lingering effects of a dispiriting trip to Florence in the Europa League. In reality, Kane and Eriksen failed to escape the tactical straitjacket they were ordered to try on by Mourinho. Chelsea were one step ahead as well as one step beyond.

As usual Mourinho had people and pundits talking, initially over his response to Matic’s suspension. Chelsea tweeted that Cahill was in central midfield but there was always the whiff of mind games in the air, and the quicker, more mobile Kurt Zouma started there, stifling Eriksen, playing with such maturity that ­Mourinho even compared the 20‑year-old to Marcel Desailly.

Cahill, meanwhile, partnered Terry in subduing Kane. The final had been previewed in some quarters as Kane versus Costa, and the rival forwards dominated the flags outside Wembley. As Kane was tamed by Chelsea’s defence, Costa troubled Spurs’. He has proved an ideal recruit by ­Mourinho, leading the line and giving Chelsea a cutting edge.

The Spaniard was not at his marauding best but he certainly made a nuisance of himself. Dier initially refused to be intimidated by Costa’s presence, timing his first tackle well, sliding in to steer the ball away from under the striker’s feet. Costa had a few words, Dier stood up to him but it was to prove the Spaniard’s afternoon and a lesson for the promising young English centre-half, who was soon booked for fouling Costa.

Spurs were actually the more impressive before Terry scored just before the break. Eriksen drove a free-kick on to the bar. Kane had a low shot held by Petr Cech. Pochettino was on the edge of his technical area, urging his young players on. But they were up against a far more experienced, cannier side.

Costa was a handful in every sense, taking a look to check the exact whereabouts of Bentaleb, before pushing his hand in the midfielder’s face. It was far from violent, more akin to feeling for a light-switch in the dark, but Liverpool’s Lazar Markovic departed for a similar offence against Basel in the Champions League. Anthony Taylor, who largely handled the occasion well, was closeby but saw no offence.

The final was intriguing, rather than inspiring. Defensive stalwarts dominated: Zouma tracked back to end a run from Eriksen, then Cahill climbed above Kane to clear. This was classic Mourinho, devising a game-plan to negate the opponents’ strengths and succeeding.

Typically, it was a defender who scored. When Nacer Chadli needlessly pulled back Branislav Ivanovic out wide in contesting a Terry pass, Willian whipped in the free-kick. The ball fell to Terry 10 yards out and he fired it back in right-footed, the ball clipping Kane and flying past Hugo Lloris. It was another reminder of the goalscoring edge provided by ­Mourinho’s backs; statisticians revealed that Chelsea defenders have now contributed 17 goals and 13 assists this season. Mourinho turned away and blew a couple of kisses to those in blue in the smart seats.

The half finished with Cahill testing Lloris. It could have finished on an even worse note for Spurs but Taylor failed to see Dier’s foul on Costa. Tottenham tried to remain upbeat. Their official Twitter account posted a message of defiance, recalling a couple of previous wins over Chelsea: “A reminder that we were 1-0 down in 2008 and on New Year’s Day.’’

But then the heavens opened, the rain poured down, and the cloud over Spurs darkened further. Chelsea fans responded to the sight of Costa now running towards their end by chanting his name constantly.

Wembley especially reverberated to “Diego, Diego” after 57 minutes. Cesc Fabregas played the perfect pass, sending Costa down the inside-left channel. Walker tried to close Costa down but succeeded only in diverting the shot past Lloris. It was given as a Walker own-goal which annoyed Costa, who insisted loudly it was his.

A man in control, Mourinho was so relaxed that he sprayed a water bottle at a television camera. His opposing number, Pochettino, sent on Mousa Dembele, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado but they could not breach the thick blue line of Mourinho’s defence. Few would bet against Mourinho collecting more trophies fol­lowing this re-acquaintance with the great love of his career – silverware.


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Mail:

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: John Terry strike and Kyle Walker's own goal win Capital One Cup

By Martin Samuel


Long before the end, gaps were appearing in the white half of Wembley Stadium. They had seen this show before. So had we all. The last time he was here Jose Mourinho served notice, winning the League Cup as the preamble to something greater. Here we go again. Rivals in the Premier League can count themselves officially told.

Chelsea deserved this for a display that advertised their finest qualities: a defensive cussedness, good organisation, bold decision making on the part of the manager and the certainty in front of goal that wins cups.

John Terry collected an individual prize, too, the Alan Hardaker Trophy as man of the match. Rightly so. He scored Chelsea's first goal, was a rock at the back, as ever, and put in a blocking tackle late in the game that is now his trademark. Nobody throws himself towards the danger quite like Terry. It is as if he is taking a bullet for the team, or smothering a grenade.

He is a Mourinho man, too, his determination the definition of a Mourinho team. Having scored five when these teams met at White Hart Lane in January, Tottenham must have fancied their chances here. In truth, they never had a sniff.

Christian Eriksen hit the bar after ten minutes and Tottenham had plenty of possession, but mostly at arm's length from Petr Cech in goal. Not that this was a defensive display.

Chelsea attacked, and scored when it mattered, either side of half-time to knock the stuffing out of Tottenham, but it was their resilience that impressed. The transformation since New Year's Day is the mark of an intelligent group.

Shorn of Nemanja Matic – who delivered the pre-match team talk, and appeared with the team in full kit to celebrate at the end – Mourinho deployed his 20-year-old central defender Kurt Zouma in defensive midfield and watched him mature before Wembley's eyes.

A difficult start with Eriksen running off him, soon became a controlled, commanding display. Who knows if he will one day be a Marcel Desailly type, as comfortable in the heart of midfield or in a back four as the occasion demands, but time is certainly on his side.

Just as ominous, for those tasked with stopping Chelsea claiming the Premier League title too, was the sight of Diego Costa returning to form. His goal may have needed a deflection off Kyle Walker, but it was his, and deservedly so. He was awkward, physically imposing, occasionally annoying, but utterly marvellous in the way he tests opposition defenders. There really is nobody quite like him in the English game and Chelsea had the last of his type, too: Didier Drogba.

Mourinho gave Drogba the last minute and a medal here, the old softie, and reintroduced Petr Cech, the goalkeeper that had taken Chelsea through three of the previous rounds. Michael Vorm had done even more in this competition for Tottenham, but was ditched in favour of Hugo Lloris. That was harsh from Mauricio Pochettino – he should have danced with the girl he took to the ball. Lloris now has a runners-up medal and Vorm, one presumes, a sense of resentment.

It is the poor relation, the Capital One Cup, and now that the Europa League winners get a pass to the Champions League, probably the fifth biggest prize in English football.

Yet Mourinho does not treat it so. He regards it as the springboard for greater success, and talked up its role in this, his second term. His reaction at the end suggested this was no mere soundbite. He hugged, he cavorted, he struck daft poses in front of the winners' podium, and then sprinted round the back to mount the steps and join his players in bouncing like over-excited toddlers.

'Finals are not for playing,' Mourinho said, 'they are for winning. We did not have a problem today.' He did not mean it as brutally as it sounded. He said Pochettino was building a very good team at Tottenham, and he is right. There is great potential, but on Sunday that was all Tottenham showed. Chelsea looked like the winners; Chelsea looked like champions.

It was a game that in many ways reflected the narrative strands of Chelsea's season. Eden Hazard got kicked a lot, Costa put it about a lot, and Mourinho waved his arms in fury.

The game was only 41 seconds old when Andros Townsend left his mark on Hazard and when, five minutes later, Eric Dier squared up to Costa, a pattern was set. On this occasion, however, it was the Chelsea man whose behaviour merited, if not official censure, then certainly a quiet word. Dier's tackle on him was firm but fair, and there was no need for the shoulder contact Costa sought on rising. His behaviour can be a problem for Chelsea.

It is possible to have sympathy for the club over some of the errors that have cost them this season – particularly penalties rejected in vital matches – yet Costa's behaviour provides ammunition for the cynical, those who believe Chelsea deploy the dark arts and deserve any reversal that goes their way. He was certainly fortunate in the 28th minute, when he planted a hand in the face of Nabil Bentaleb. The Tottenham man stopped, probably considered making more of it, but decided against that.

By now, others were involved. Costa could easily have been booked but referee Anthony Taylor instead settled for keeping the peace. It was no surprise then that three minutes later Dier was booked for a foul on Costa – although it looked more ferocious than malicious. Chelsea can bring out the worst in folk.

Tottenham got an early scare when a cross from Branislav Ivanovic was tipped over by Lloris in the seventh minute with Terry lurking at the back post, but it was Chelsea's captain who broke the deadlock in the final minute of the first-half. It was a scrappy goal, but no less impressive for that because desire and determination are fine qualities too.

Terry was once rendered unconscious by a boot in a League Cup final, and tried to persuade the ambulance driver to turn around on the way to the hospital to let him finish the game. This was a considerably more mundane event, but it curbed Tottenham's swagger and set up Chelsea's victory.

Willian's free-kick from the right clipped Danny Rose and ricocheted off Zouma and Dier before falling to Terry, who struck it through a crowd of players. Lloris saved an overhead kick from Fabregas from the first attack of the second-half, but from the next, Chelsea scored and slipped into cruise mode. Costa gambled like a true matchwinner with his run, and when the ball arrived after lovely build-up work from Willian and Fabregas, he made Walker commit and stick out a fateful foot out. Chelsea were 2-0 up after 56 minutes. In this mood, the game was over.

It might have been very different had Eriksen not hit the bar with a free-kick from 25 yards, but Chelsea's defensive unit was as good as at any time this season. Coupled with the result at Anfield, it will have been the happiest Mr Moody has been in some time. Mourinho has the first trophy of his second coming. It will surely not be his last.


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Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham: Deflected double sees Blues claim Capital One Cup glory

Alex Richards

Jose Mourinho's Blues claimed the League Cup thanks to a pair of deflected efforts from skipper John Terry and striker Diego Costa

Chelsea won the Capital One Cup with a determined display against Tottenham Hotspur, goals from John Terry and Diego Costa earning them a 2-0 win.

Jose Mourinho's side are looking for a treble this term, and moved one-third of the way to their target at Wembley against their London rivals.

After being second best for much of the first period and seeing Christian Eriksen hit the crossbar, the Premier League leaders went in front just a minute before half-time through captain Terry's deflected effort, when Spurs failed to deal with a free-kick from the right.

It was a bitter blow for Spurs, but from there Chelsea took charge of the match, and, via the aid of another deflection - this time off Kyle Walker - ended Spurs hopes just 10 minutes into the second period, the England defender diverting Diego Costa's low cross into his own net.

The Blues hadn’t been behind in the Capital One Cup this season, but they almost were just 10 minutes in at Wembley against a hungry Spurs side, featuring six English players in its starting XI.

Harry Kane - who terrorised Chelsea at White Hart Lane in a New Year’s Day massacre - was bundled over on the edge of the penalty area by surprise starter Kurt Zouma, the young Frenchman finding himself anchoring the Blues midfield and Christian Eriksen’s whipped free-kick slammed against Petr Cech’s crossbar.

Spurs, shock winners in the 2008 final against the same opponents, made six changes from Thursday night’s Europa League loss in Florence at the hands of Fiorentina, and they were keen to assert themselves early on; Eric Dier, the England under-21 international, twice baulked Diego Costa off the ball, while Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb, the midfield enforcers, were quickly in on Cesc Fabregas whenever he picked up possession, not giving the Spaniard an inch with which to weave.

Eden Hazard, the Premier League’s most fouled player, looked to make his own impression on proceedings in the 22nd minute, but after being freed by a fine long ball from Willian, his shot was well blocked.

Chelsea, without the power and direction that Nemanja Matic brings to their midfield, were looking to hit Costa with early passes, and it was one such pass which tempted Dier into a challenge on the Spain striker; Dier mistimed, and found his name in the referee’s notepad.

By the 40th minute, Chelsea were still yet to have an effort on target, Pochettino’s Spurs showing a resoluteness which is becoming the norm, rather than the exception, under the Argentine. At the other end, Eriksen and Kane had both forced low saves from Cech, while Walker and Danny Rose were both enjoying their forward forays during a vibrant opening half.

But on the stroke of half-time, having been the better of the two sides, Spurs fell behind.

A free-kick on the right, given against Nacer Chadli, wasn’t dealt with by the Lilywhites, and when the ball ricocheted off the chest of Dier to the feet of Terry eight yards from goal, his low effort deflected past the helpless Lloris.

The opening goal was a bitter pill for Pochettino to swallow, after an encouraging showing from his side, but things could have got worse moments later, as Chelsea almost doubled their lead.

A corner from the left was met by Ivanovic at the far post, whose header back across goal was met by Gary Cahill, but Lloris made the diving save.

Like a shark smelling blood, Chelsea came out and went for the kill straight from the whistle at the beginning of the second period. A clever cross-field ball from Willian found Hazard, whose low cross was asking to be tapped in, before Fabregas forced Lloris into a full-stretch save to his left, after an inspired overhead effort.

Then, as the rain came down at Wembley, it did likewise on Spurs' League Cup hopes, and at its heart was Fabregas.

After an opening 45 spent minding Zouma at the base of midfield, Mourinho moved the Spaniard further forward into a No.10 position for the second half. From there, he picked up the ball, span, rolled it into Costa, and the Blues' striker's cross deflected off the boot of Walker and into the back of the net.

Pochettino turned to his bench to try and reinvigorate his side, bringing on both Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela in a bid to push Chelsea on the back foot, Mason and the disappointing Townsend the two players sacrificed.

Dier, up for a set piece, headed over when he should have scored, while Kane's excellent low cross found Chadli on his heels when Ivanovic swiped at a clearance.

Chadli was replaced with 11 minutes remaining, Roberto Soldado entering the fray as Pochettino's last throw of the dice

But Chelsea's defence, marshaled by its skipper, refused to break - Terry blocking Kane brilliantly with four minutes remaining and Ivanovic denying the forlorn Spurs striker Soldado.

All in, it ensured that Mourinho laid claim to his first trophy in his second spell as Chelsea boss - the same trophy that he first won in England a decade ago.

It won't be his last.


Darren Lewis' player ratings

Chelsea: Cech 7; Ivanovic 8, Cahill 7, Terry 9 MOTM, Azpilicueta 7; Zouma 6, Fabregas 6; Ramires 6, Willian 7, Hazard 6; Costa 8.

Subs: Cuadrado 5 (75, Willian), Oscar 5 (88, Fabregas), Drogba 5 (90, Costa).

Tottenham: Lloris 6; Walker 6, Dier 5, Vertonghen 5, Rose 6; Mason 6, Bentaleb 6; Townsend 5, Eriksen 6, Chadli 5; Kane 5.

Subs: Dembele 5 (61, Townsend), Lamela 5 (70, Mason) Soldado 5 (79, Chadli).


Jose Mourinho on winning another final: "My players were fantastic. Finals are not for playing they are for winning.

"We did not have problems. They had a couple of chances but nothing else. We knew we would be dangerous on the counter and we played like we should play a final."

Mauricio Pochettino on his side's defeat: "Firstly I want to congratulate Chelsea on their victory and also to congratulate my players - they played very well.

"We fought until the final moment and that was important. We have a very young group and it was a first final for a lot of our players."


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Express:

Chelsea 2 - Tottenham 0: Jose Mourinho's 'special' tactics bring home Capital One Cup


Chelsea have now won the League Cup three times under Jose Mourinho

Type "special" and "definition" into the ubiquitous search engine and it offers up not one answer but a pair of alternatives.

The most common usage, Special (1), is the Chelsea we were used to during Jose Mourinho's first trophy-laden spell in charge at Stamford Bridge. "Better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual," runs the explanation. As good a description of that team as any.

Yesterday, though, marked a transition into the realms of the secondary definition. It was a meaning of "special" which the Blues boss employed to unexpected, devastating and untouchable effect, essentially winning his side the final against Tottenham in the process.

"Belonging specifically to a particular person or place," Google goes on to say under the heading Special (2). It also offers "distinctive, individual, certain and peculiar" among the list of possible synonyms. All of those qualities applied yesterday to Mourinho's initial team-selection as Mauricio Pochettino was out-thought and Tottenham consequently out-played with specially-tailored tactics that worked perfectly from first whistle to last.

Most people recognise that Mourinho is generally as distinctive and individual as he is certain. But peculiar? Put it this way, there were more than a few people left scratching their heads when Chelsea handed in a team-sheet containing no fewer than four players whose preferred position is centre-back.

Branislav Ivanovic is used to accepting a regular enough place as a right-back, but Kurt Zouma, Gary Cahill and John Terry in the same line-up? How was that going to work? The solution, it transpired, was a 4-1-4-1 system that caught Tottenham on the hop, stifled their most influential players and enabled Chelsea to canter to a comfortable victory without ever getting out of third gear.

The brilliance of the tactic was that it did not even need exemplary performances from Chelsea's players for it to work.

In truth, Kurt Zouma's was little more than adequate as a holding midfielder. But his 6ft3in frame filled up the space just in front of the back two which both Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen like to exploit. Moreover, when the right-footed Nacer Chadli and left-footed Andros Townsend both looked to cut inside, his sizeable presence was an evident deterrent.

Tottenham quickly began to rely solely on any loose scraps they could get - and that may still have been enough for an early lead but for the woodwork.

When Cesc Fabregas halted Kane unceremoniously as the England under-21 international threated to weave his way past him and into the penalty area, it gave Eriksen a set-piece sight of goal. Sadly for the north Londoners, his shot could only cannon back off the crossbar. It was to be the last time that Chelsea's supremacy looked in any way threatened.

Nevertheless, the game remained balanced until the stroke of half-time, when Willian's free-kick flicked off Danny Rose, hit Dier's chest and bounced invitingly into the path of Terry. The former England captain needed no second invitation to force the ball over the line.

It was precisely the worst time to concede a goal, but even in the half-time interval Pochettino was clearly at a loss to conjure something equally special in return.

Instead, Chelsea continued to press their supremacy, with Fabregas's overhead kick testing Hugo Lloris on his goal-line just four minutes after the re-start.

Not long afterwards the final was effectively put out of Tottenham's reach. Diego Costa had gotten half a yard on Walker and collected a log ball over the top. His low shot deflected off the recovering Tottenham defender and past the helplessly wrong-footed Lloris.

Pochettino rung the changes in an attempt to produce a winning formula, with no real hint of success.

Kane still struggled to influence the play under the watching England manager Roy Hodgson and once again Erik Lamela's £30m price-tag hung heavily around his neck.

It wasn't pretty for the sell-out crowd at an increasingly rainswept Wembley - but then that was not part of Mourinho's remit.

"Finals are not for playing they are for winning," he would point out afterwards. He should know, this is trophy no. 22 in his career so far.

Pochettino's week, by contrast, could not have gone worse. Dumped out of the Europa League by Fiorentina on Thursday, the clock now appears to be ticking on the promise he made to Spurs fans in October of a major trophy "within the next two years".


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Star:

Chelsea 2 Tottenham 0: Jose Mourinho masterminds win to bag first trophy of second reign

JOSE MOURINHO was left singing in the rain after making it a hat-trick of League Cup triumphs as Chelsea boss.

By Jeremy Cross


The Special One turned into the Sodden One at Wembley but he couldn't care less after returning to the winners circle to add another piece of silverware to his bulging collection.

Deflected goals either side of half time from captain fantastic John Terry and firebrand striker Diego Costa killed-off Tottenham's brave challenge to leave their own boss Mauricio Pochettino still waiting to get his hands on his first trophy as a manager.

His time will surely come, but the afternoon belonged to the Blues and Mourinho, who proved once again what a master of the big occasion he is.

The Portuguese, who won this competition in 2005 and 2007, has now won all four of the major domestic Cup finals he has taken the Blues into.

And who would back against him leading them to another Premier League title after Manchester City lost at Liverpool to make it a perfect day for the manager who is destined to become the one of the most successful of all time.

This was the third clash between these two rivals in less than three months, and by far the most important.

The season's first piece of silverware was up for grabs and both bosses were desperate to get their hands on it.

Spurs needed to scratch a seven-year itch, having failed to taste success since beating the Blues in the same Final back in 2008 thanks to Jonathan Woodgate's winner.

Mourinho, meanwhile, was still waiting to experience that familiar feeling of lifting a trophy since returning as Blues boss in 2013.

This was the first trophy Mourinho won in his initial spell at Stamford Bridge and it catapulted him to greatness in England.

The master of the big game, Mourinho sprung a major surprise before kick-off when he picked Kurt Zouma in midfield to compensate for the absence of the suspended Nemanja Matic.

It was a big, big call from Mourinho, but considering he was spotted whistling during the warm-up and stood with his hands in his pockets for the pre-match introductions, nothing seemed to bother him.

Petr Cech was also recalled in goal at the expense of Thibaut Courtois.

Less of a surprise was the return to the Spurs starting XI of Kane, as expected, who was left out for his side's midweek Europa League defeat in Fiorentina.

Kane was one of six changes, with Pochettino handing goalkeeper Hugo Lloris his first start in this competition this season ahead of regular Michael Vorm, who had to settle for a place among the substitutes.

The game was open from the start, with both sides trading glancing blows in a bid to get the upper hand.

Loris flapped at a cross from Branislav Ivanovic before the Blues defender headed wide at the back post while Edin Hazard wasted a good shooting chance following Diego Costa's lay off.

Spurs looked threatening too, with Kane and Christian Eriksen the main dangers.

Eriksen hammered a free kick against the crossbar on nine minutes and tested Cech again with a low drive, while Kane also tried his luck but failed to get the better of the Blues keeper.

But the eventual breakthrough came down to luck more than skill when Spurs midfielder Nacer Chadli conceded a needless free kick wide on the right.

Willian swung in a dangerous ball that saw Danny Rose's clearing header strike Eric Dier and fall kindly to Terry, who then saw his shot strike Dier again and deflect past Lloris into the back of the net.

It was the Blues' first shot on target but Mourinho's men doubled their lead 11 minutes into the second half to leave Spurs with a mountain to climb.

Cesc Febragas picked out Costa in space on the left and when he drilled a shot towards goal it deflected off the shin of Kyle Walker to leave Lloris with no chance again.

Pochettino's men were beaten and as Mourinho clenched his fists at the final whistle he knew it probably wouldn't be the last time he'd be celebrating like this before the seasons is through.

Mourinho and the Blues are winners again. Normal service has resumed.