Costa was upfront on his own, making a nuisance of himself, bullying Spurs’ defence. Eric Dier initially refused to be intimidated by Costa’s presence, timing his tackle well in the area, dispossessing the Chelsea striker. Costa had a few words, Dier stood up to him but this was the Spaniard’s afternoon. This was a painful education for the young English centre-half.
On it went until Terry and Costa struck either side of the break, the final containing sparring rather than any landing of real punches. Branislav Ivanovic headed a Fabregas corner wide. Then Fabregas brought down Kane. Eriksen took responsibility for the free-kick 25 yards out. Andros Townsend was closeby but this was always Eriksen territory. He ran in, imparting power and dip, the ball coming down, hitting the bar and bouncing out.
Spurs were marginally the better side for most of the first half, enjoying more possession but there was always the concern that their European travels and ultimately travails may sap their legs of the required dynamism. They tried but failed to escape the strait-jacket. Kane had a low shot held by Petr Cech. Eriksen’s shot deflected up into Ramires’ right arm, although appeals for hand-ball were half-hearted. Mourinho was taking notes, but there cannot have been many, barring surely a scribbled reminder to ensure Terry gets another year’s contract. His captain was composure personified at the back, reading Ryan Mason’s attempted pass to Kane. Terry was outstanding.
There's no quarter given from either team
For a while, there were signs of the new, youthful Spurs everywhere: there was a block from Mason on Hazard here, a clearance from Nabil Bentaleb on Costa there, and then a break from Danny Rose. Mauricio 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. Terry was playing in his fourth League Cup final alone. Costa was a handful in every sense, taking a look to check on the exact whereabouts of Bentaleb, before pushing his hand in the midfielder’s face.
It was far from violent, more a 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 so close but saw no offence. Bentaleb was enraged, as were some of his team-mates, and Kyle Walker soon body-checked Costa.
Costa was causing constant grief to Spurs, running across Dier as a ball came in. Dier was targeting the ball, made contact with Costa who rolled across famous turf now mercifully free of the grid-iron logos. Dier was booked.The game was intriguing, rather than inspiring. Defensive stalwarts were on top: Zouma tracked back to stifle another run from Eriksen, then Cahill climbed above Kane to clear. This was classic Mourinho, devising a game-plan to negate the opponents’ strengths.
Typically, it was a defender who scored. When Nacer Chadli needlessly fouled 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 Dier and Kane and flying past Lloris.
John Terry scores Chelsea's opener
It was Chelsea’s first attempt on goal. It was also another reminder of the goalscoring edge provided by Chelsea defenders; the statisticians pointed out that this season, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Cahill, and Cesar Azpilicueta have contributed “16 goals 13 assists”. Mourinho turned away and blew a couple of kisses to those in blue in the smart seats.
The half finished with Ivanovic transferring a corner on to Cahill, whose header was grasped by Lloris. It could have finished on an even worse note for Spurs but Taylor failed to see Dier’s foul on Costa. Spurs tried to remain upbeat. Their official Twitter account soon 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 in the second period. Chelsea fans had responded to the sight of Costa now running at their end by chanting his name constantly and Wembley was reverberating even more with “Diego, Diego” after 57 minutes. 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.
Diego Costa celebrates as Chelsea double their lead
A man in control, Mourinho was so relaxed that he sprayed a water bottle at a television camera. His team continued to frustrate Spurs. Zouma continued to thwart Eriksen. Chelsea players were even spilling blood for the blue cause: Azpilicueta took a whack to the back of his head, and needed an elaborate bandage. Azpilicueta then threw himself into the way of a Kane cross. The England Under-21 striker had moved right as Roberto Soldado came on.
Chelsea absorbed Spurs’ late pressure. Kane threw himself in the way of a Kane shot. Cahill then slid in to stop Kane as the Chelsea fans sang in praise of Mourinho. In Terry-style, Matic celebrated on the pitch after the final whistle in full kit. So this was the first trophy of Mourinho’s second coming at Chelsea. Few would bet against his adding more following this reacquaintance with English silverware.
