3 Talking Points From Chelsea vs Tottenham (2-0): Will This Be The First Of Many?

John Terry and Diego Costa scored to give Jose Mourinho his first trophy of his second-coming as the Blues beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday. Just as the first half was meandering to a close, John Terry’s deflected close-range effort found its way past Hugo Lloris and gave Chelsea the lead and dampened Spurs’ morale just as they went into the interval.

Another deflected effort, this time by Diego Costa gave his side a 2-0 lead. Although Spurs continued to dominate possession and pressed forward in search of a goal, Chelsea’s defense stood firm and held on to give Mourinho his 21 career trophy in the pouring rain at Wembley.

Here are the major talking points.

Will this be the first of many?

For all the talk of the attractive football Chelsea have played this season, the Blues were yet to win a trophy since Mourinho took over for the second time. At times this season, they have looked surprisingly vulnerable at the back and too open, which is something that Mourinho’s sides aren’t generally known for. But Sunday’s win over Spurs now means that the Capital One Cup is Mourinho’s first trophy during both his first and second spell with the club.

Although this side is completely different from the side he left when he went to take the Real Madrid job, it is one that is firmly capable of turning into a well-oiled trophy collecting machine. Even without their best midfielder in Nemanja Matic, playing in a new formation, the Blues looked well in control for much of the game, as they inflicted a measure of revenge over Spurs for their 5-3 defeat early in the year. Well poised to go through in the Champions League and five points clear with a game in hand in the league, this might not be the only trophy that the side claim this season.

Spurs season crumbling down

Over the course of their last five games, Tottenham’s season has gone from being a wonderful dream to their worst nightmare. It all started with a loss at Anfield, which ended their three-game winning run. Since then Spurs have played four games in all competitions, haven’t won a single game, lost twice and are currently seven points behind third-placed Arsenal, a side they beat less than a month ago.

Although they have a game in hand in the league, defeat to Chelsea means that they have now been dumped out of the FA Cup, Capital One Cup and the Europa League in the space of a few weeks. The North London club have gone from looking like ending the season in fourth, with a trophy, to now facing the distinct possibility that they might not even make it into Europe. Pochettino has to quickly find a way to arrest their slide and ensure that his players don’t go into a shell and make life difficult for themselves for the rest of the season.

Costa outshines Kane

It was supposed to a titanic clash between the Premier League’s two best forwards. Diego Costa vs Harry Kane. The young English upstart playing for his hometown club, against a foreign superstar who has taken to the league like a duck to water. In their own very separate ways, it was supposed to be a tale of two strikers who have caused joy and controversy in equal measure so far this season.

In the end, it was not what everyone expected. It wasn’t a fair fight as Spurs struggled to get Kane in the game while Costa flourished in the other end. On the biggest stage of them all, Kane was found wanting, not because of anything he did or didn’t do, but because his side, for all their possession, couldn’t get their best player into the game often enough. And it was the Spaniard, taking over the mantle from Didier Drogba as the man for the big occasion, who scored the decisive goal that won his side their first trophy of the season.