Chelsea triumph at Wembley against Spurs

Deflected strikes from John Terry and Diego Costa gave Jose Mourinho his first piece of silverware since returning to Chelsea, as the Blues beat Tottenham 2-0 in the League Cup final.

Spurs had been the better side for the majority of the first half, but, apart from a Christian Eriksen free kick that smacked against the bar, were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities.

Instead, Chelsea took the lead in the closing stages of the first half as Terry pounced to fire home as Willian’s free kick bounced around the Spurs area.

Gary Cahill almost doubled their lead ahead of the break, and the Blues were two goals to the good with 56 on the clock as Cesc Fabregas played in Costa whose effort was deflected past Hugo Lloris by Kyle Walker.

Tottenham searched for a way back into the game but their attempts became more and more desperate and it was Chelsea who went closer to a third goal as Fabregas headed wide following a well-worked free kick.

And the west Londoners were able to see out a win that handed them their fifth League Cup crown, and third across Mourinho’s two spells.

10’ – ERIKSEN HITS THE BAR – Kane draws a foul from Cesc Fabregas about 20 yards from the Chelsea goal. Eriksen steps up and curls the resulting free kick against the bar.

28’ – COSTA IN THE THICK OF IT – Brazil-born striker appears to hand off Nabil Bentaleb in the face, before the midfielder, Ryan Mason and Kyle Walker are all involved in a little fracas with Costa.

44’ – GOAL FOR CHELSEA – Nacer Chadli fouls Branislav Ivanovic on the right wing. Willian swings in the free kick, and as the ball bounces around the Spurs area, Terry fires home.

45+2’ – CHANCE FOR CHELSEA – The Blues have been second best but all of a sudden they almost make it 2-0 as Cahill forces Hugo Lloris into a good save with a header from a corner.

49’ – ACROBATIC FROM FABREGAS – The Spanish midfielder attempts an overhead kick from the edge of the box that has Lloris scrambling across goal.

56’ – GOAL FOR CHELSEA – Fabregas plays Costa into the area and his shot across goal is diverted past Lloris by a big deflection off Walker.

67’ – CHANCE FOR CHELSEA – Willian squares a free kick across the box for Hazard to clip a ball to the far post where Fabregas heads wide after Danny Rose just gets a touch on the ball.

79’ – CHANCE FOR SPURS – Chadli flicks on an Eriksen corner and the ball just evades Erik Lamela at the far post.

87’ – CHANCE FOR SPURS – Harry Kane bursts into the box and forces Terry into a good block.

Jose Mourinho has now won six trophies as Chelsea manager (3 League Cups, 2 league titles, 1 FA Cup).

Chelsea took the lead with their first shot on target at Wembley.

Chelsea restricted Spurs to just two shots on target in the whole game.

Was this a win borne out of luck or the tactical genius of Jose Mourinho? Chelsea started the game with Kurt Zouma in an unfamiliar midfield role and for much of the first 45 minutes it looked as though the experiment was failing as Tottenham won the midfield battle. However, once Terry had put them in front, and Spurs began to chase the game more and more in the second half, the defensive shield provided by Zouma and Ramires proved vital in protecting their side's lead. If Spurs had scored first the outcome may have been different, but they didn't and Chelsea now have a trophy that could kick-start Mourinho's second spell.

John Terry (Chelsea): Came up with a captain's goal and was pretty flawless for 90 minutes, safeguarding his side's two-goal lead with a late block to deny Kane. Terry was aided by impressive performances from Willian and Eden Hazard, while Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas stepped up when needed.

CHELSEA: Cech 7, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 8, Azpilicueta 6, Ramires 7, Zouma 6, Willian 7, Fabregas 6, Hazard 7, Costa 7. Subs: Cuadrado 6, Oscar 5, Drogba 5

TOTTENHAM: Lloris 7, Walker 7, Dier 7, Vertonghen 6, Rose 6, Mason 7, Bentaleb 7, Chadli 6, Eriksen 6, Townsend 6, Kane 6. Subs: Dembele 5, Lamela 5, Soldado 7