A John Terry inspired Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to claim the Capital One Cup at Wembley. On a night when the Spurs’ leading goal scorer Harry Kane appeared invisible, the Chelsea skipper fired in from close range to give Chelsea a half time lead before Diego Costa’s deflected strike sealed Tottenham’s fate after 56 minutes.
Let’s take a look at how the Chelsea players fared on a day Jose Mourinho secured his first piece of silverware since the La Liga title three years back.
Petr Cech – 7
Nothing spectacular, but did what was required of him after getting the opportunity ahead of No.1 Thibaut Courtois.
Branislav Ivanovic – 7.5
Missed an early chance but was ever willing to venture forward all night. Won the free kick for John Terry’s opener with excellent ball control.
Gary Cahill – 7.5
Top performance from the England man. Reduced the in-form Harry Kane to an invisible entity. Excellent defensive display.
John Terry – 9
Still, one of the top center backs in England, and nobody’s complaining if he can smash in crucial goals from time to time. Solid as a rock at the heart of the Chelsea defence.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7
Finished the game with a heavily patched up head, but stood tall against the threat of Andros Townsend.
Kurt Zouma – 6.5
Looked ill-at-ease in an unfamiliar holding midfield position but recovered to finish strongly.
Ramires – 6.5
Ever so willing to provide an additional option in attack, and controlled the pace of the game from his deeper position.
Willian – 7.5
Provided the delivery for Chelsea’s opening goal and looked lively all evening. Terrific performance from the Brazilian.
Cesc Fabregas – 7.5
Couldn’t get into the game in the first half but showed a touch of class to use his chest and flick the ball into the air to almost stump Hugo Lloris with an amazing overhead kick. Also set up Diego Costa for Chelsea’s second of the night.
Eden Hazard – 7.5
Chelsea’s go-to man throughout the night. Ran all night at the Spurs’ defence, using the width of the Wembley pitch or moving in centrally to cause all sorts of problems to the Spurs backline.
Diego Costa – 8
The hot-headed striker was on fire, well, quite literally, but composed himself after early altercations with Nabil Bentaleb and Eric Dier, to put the ball in the back of the net with a deflected strike before the hour mark. Spurs simply had no answer to Chelsea’s big money summer acquisition.
Substitutes:
Juan Cuadrado – 5
Replaced Willian late on and kept things steady to help Chelsea secure their first trophy this season.
Didier Drogba – NA
More of a symbolic gesture from Jose Mourinho to bring on the man who inspired Chelsea to that memorable FA Cup win in ’07 against Manchester United, among many other Wembley occasions.